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| Former Japanese farm minister Takamori Yoshikawa was indicted without arrest Friday on a charge of receiving bribes. (Photo by=Mainichi) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] Former Japanese farm minister Takamori Yoshikawa was indicted without arrest Friday on a charge of receiving bribes from an egg production company while in office, prosecutors said.
Yoshikawa, 70, received a total of 5 million yen ($48,000) from a former representative of Akita Foods Co. on three occasions between November 2018 and August 2019, when he was agriculture, forestry, and fisheries minister, although he was aware of the company head's intention to seek favors, according to the indictment. The scandal involving the former minister, who served under Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's predecessor Shinzo Abe, is expected to take a toll on the current Cabinet, which has seen falling approval ratings amid increasing public dissatisfaction with its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The prosecutors also charged Yoshiki Akita, 87, the former head of the company based in Hiroshima Prefecture, for offering the money to Yoshikawa. The prosecutors decided not to take the two men into custody due to health concerns and because they were not seen as flight risks or likely to destroy evidence, investigative sources said earlier. Suga said Yoshikawa's indictment was "very regrettable," adding his Liberal Democratic Party would not field a candidate in the April by-election to choose a replacement for the former farm minister, who resigned from the House of Representatives last month citing chronic heart problems.
