Guilty Sentence for Ex-Lawmaker Akimoto to Become Final

   Tokyo, Dec. 18 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by former House of Representatives lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto, 53, against his guilty sentence in a high-profile corruption case linked to a casino-featuring integrated resort, or IR, project.
   The sentence of four years in prison and a fine of about 7.6 million yen will now become final.
   In the decision dated Tuesday, the top court's First Petty Bench, presided over by Justice Masaaki Oka, also rejected an appeal by Akihiro Toyoshima, 46, a former policy secretary to Akimoto, against his sentence of two years in prison, suspended for four years, in the same case.
   According to rulings by Tokyo District Court and Tokyo High Court, Akimoto, then state minister in charge of IR-related affairs, conspired with Toyoshima to receive bribes totaling 7.6 million yen, including cash and travel expenses, between 2017 and 2018 from a Chinese company seeking to operate an IR facility in Japan.
   In addition, Akimoto, while on bail in 2020, offered rewards to two former advisers of the Chinese company in exchange for false testimony in court that would be helpful to him.

(2024/12/18-16:22)