Aug 26 (NHK) - Former Justice Minister Kawai Katsuyuki and his lawmaker wife, Kawai Anri, denied charges of vote buying in the opening of their trial at Tokyo District Court on Tuesday.
Prosecutors alleged that Kawai Katsuyuki distributed about 270,000 dollars in cash to 100 local politicians and senior members of support groups to secure votes for his wife. She won a seat in the Upper House election in July last year.
Kawai Anri allegedly distributed about 16,000 dollars of the funds to five local assembly members among the 100 recipients.
In the opening hearing, Kawai Katsuyuki first apologized to the people who had supported his political career and bowed deeply. He said he did not hand out the money to secure votes for his wife or to encourage the recipients to campaign for her.
Kawai Anri also apologized to voters and those who supported her campaign. She said she had never colluded with her husband and did not give cash to the five people in return for their campaign activities to get her elected.
She said she had never campaigned before registering her candidacy. She said that before she officially became a candidate, she had only worked to expand the Liberal Democratic Party's force and prepared for her campaign.
Prosecutors said in their opening statement that Kawai Katsuyuki gave money even to estranged people outside his electoral constituency, calling it gifts to round up votes. They also said he arranged for his wife to visit some of them.
The prosecutors read out the names of the 100 people who allegedly received the cash, listing when, where and how the money transactions took place.
