2019 upper house election

National / Crime & Legal Oct 21, 2021

Ex-Justice Minister Kawai accepts prison term over buying votes

Kawai pleaded not guilty in his first hearing in August last year. But he admitted to most of the charges in March and sought a suspended sentence.

National Oct 19, 2021

Prison term to be finalized for former Japan justice minister over vote buying

Katsuyuki Kawai, who was found guilty of buying votes for his wife in the 2019 Upper House election, intends to drop his appeal, a source has said.

National / Crime & Legal Jul 6, 2021

Prosecutors drop case against recipients of ex-minister's bribes

Prosecutors on Tuesday dropped a bribery case against all 100 individuals including local assembly members who allegedly received cash from former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai.

National / Crime & Legal Jun 18, 2021

Former justice minister gets three-year prison term over vote-buying scandal

Katsuyuki Kawai, 58, was found guilty of giving some ¥29 million in total to 100 people in 2019 in conspiracy with his wife, to buy votes for her in an Upper House election.

National / Crime & Legal Apr 30, 2021

Four year prison term sought for ex-justice minister over vote buying

The trial is expected to conclude after the defense counsel's closing argument slated for May 18, with a ruling possibly to be given as early as June.

National / Crime & Legal Mar 23, 2021

Ex-justice minister resigns as lawmaker and pleads guilty to vote-buying

Katsuyuki Kawai allegedly violated the election law by handing out cash to politicians and supporters to reward them for voting for his wife.

National / Crime & Legal Mar 19, 2021

Ex-justice minister to resign as lawmaker over vote-buying, sources say

Katsuyuki Kawai is accused of handing out a total of about ¥29 million to 100 individuals to reward them for votes secured in the campaign to elect his wife, Anri Kawai.

National / Crime & Legal Mar 3, 2021

Ex-justice minister granted bail in Japan vote-buying case

Katsuyuki Kawai, a 57-year-old House of Representatives member, is accused of handing out a total of about ¥29 million to 100 individuals to reward them for votes for his wife.

National / Politics Feb 3, 2021

Lawmaker Anri Kawai submits resignation over 2019 vote-buying scandal

Kawai is believed to have chosen to quit ahead of potentially losing her status as a lawmaker should her guilty verdict over the scandal be finalized.

National / Crime & Legal Jan 25, 2021

Shizuka Kamei's secretary admits to getting ¥3 million from Kawai

The secretary said he received ¥1 million in Kawai's office on May 31, 2019, and ¥2 million in a hotel on July 3 the same year.

National / Crime & Legal Jan 21, 2021

Lawmaker Anri Kawai found guilty of vote-buying in 2019 election

The 47-year-old Upper House lawmaker was sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for five years, in a ruling also expected to affect the case of her husband, Katsuyuki Kawai.