Former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai on Thursday accepted a three-year prison term for buying votes for his wife in the 2019 Upper House election, dropping his appeal in the high-profile case that has rocked the country's ruling party.
Kawai, who held the ministerial post under then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is the first former Cabinet member in over 10 years to have a prison term finalized. He has already resigned as a lawmaker.
Kawai is also subject to a forfeiture of ¥1.3 million after the Tokyo District Court's ruling in June found he had handed out a total of ¥28.7 million to 100 local assembly members and supporters in his wife Anri's constituency in Hiroshima Prefecture to buy votes.