Man paid by ex-justice minister to gain votes for wife in election

Kyodo -- May 14

A man who received money from former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai to support his wife's election campaign told prosecutors he had been tasked with winning votes for her from supporters of an incumbent lawmaker, sources close to the matter said Wednesday.

The man was paid around 960,000 yen ($9,000) by Kawai, 57, to support the campaign of his wife Anri in an upper house election last summer.

In the election, the Liberal Democratic Party had fought for two seats in the Hiroshima constituency by backing both Anri Kawai, 46, and the veteran incumbent lawmaker, Kensei Mizote.

During voluntary questioning by the Hiroshima District Public Prosecutors Office, the man said he called on several local assembly members close to Mizote and asked them to collect votes for Anri. The man reported details of these meetings to Katsuyuki Kawai via the messaging app Line.