A three-year prison term for former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai for buying votes for his wife in the 2019 Upper House election is set to be finalized as he intends to drop his appeal in the high-profile case, a source familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
Kawai, who has resigned as a lawmaker, will likely become the first former Cabinet member in over 10 years to be subject to a finalized prison term. In its ruling in June this year, which found Kawai had handed out a total of ¥28.7 million to buy votes, the Tokyo District Court also ordered a forfeiture of ¥1.3 million.