Ex-farm minister given suspended prison sentence for receiving bribes

May 27 (NHK) - A former Japanese agriculture minister, Yoshikawa Takamori, has been given a suspended prison sentence for taking bribes from an egg producer while in office.

Yoshikawa was indicted on charges of receiving a total of 5 million yen, or about 39,000 dollars, from a former head of Hiroshima-based Akita Foods on three occasions between November 2018 and August 2019.

Yoshikawa admitted to receiving the cash, but pleaded not guilty, saying the funds received were not bribes.

At the Tokyo District Court on Thursday, presiding judge Mukai Katsuko said Yoshikawa was aware the egg producer's intention to seek favors over draft standards for poultry breeding drawn up by an international organization.

The judge said Yoshikawa knew the money was for the government's opposition to the proposed standards and preferential treatment for the egg industry.

Recognizing all of the cash Yoshikawa received as bribes, the judge criticized his act and gave him a prison sentence of two years and six months, suspended for four years.

The judge also ordered him to pay a penalty of 5 million yen, the same amount of money that changed hands. ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

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