8chan/8kun QResearch Posts (8)
#14088691 at 2021-07-09 19:44:08 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #17827: Fake Q Moved Boards, Guess They Are Scared of BV Edition
Japan Drops Charges Against 100 People Involved in Vote Buying
Media in Japan as well as some public figures criticized on Wednesday the decision by Japanese prosecutors not to charge 100 people involved in an electoral fraud scheme that landed former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai in hot water.
Kawai tried to buy his wife, also a politician, a seat in the upper house of the legislature in 2019 and was sentenced in June to three years in prison and a fine equivalent to US$12,000. He had been found guilty of bribing 100 local political leaders and campaign supporters with a total of $260,000 to secure votes for Anri Kawai in the House of Councilors election. One of the 100 has since passed away from illness.
Kawai gave varying amounts of bribes to different people, apparently to align with the votes that the recipient could deliver, according to the June Tokyo District Court ruling. For a former legislative secretary from Hiroshima, Kawai gave $27,000. Forty local politicians received at least $900 each, and their staff at least $450.
Kawai, who had initially claimed innocence, pleaded guilty in March and resigned from his post in the legislature shortly after. His wife was sentenced to 16 months in prison, and had stepped down from her post in the House of Councilors in February.
The decision not to prosecute the recipients is highly unusual, especially since 94 of the 100 have acknowledged receiving the bribes. Under the Public Offices Election Act, bribe recipients can be charged even if they receive less than $90.
Yukio Hatoyama, a former Prime Minister, took to Twitter to express his concern about the outcome of the case.
"All the people who received cash from Mr. and Mrs. Katsuyuki Kawai were not charged," he wrote. "From now on, if you say that you have received, no matter how much you have received, you will not be guilty. It's a de facto judicial transaction, but is this right?"
An editorial in Asahi Shimbun, a popular newspaper in Japan, said that prosecutors will "impose all responsibility on Mr. and Mrs. Kawai and wait for voters to forget? The trauma left by the incident is deep, and the path to regaining political confidence is far away."
A special investigative unit in Tokyo's Public Prosecutors Office suggested that the recipients had no malicious intent - and were instead forced to take the money.
In a Tuesday press conference, deputy chief prosecutor Hiroshi Yamamoto said that prosecutors considered whether to charge some of the local politicians who received large amounts of money from Kawai, but that it would be difficult to determine the exact amounts they received.
Yamamoto also stressed that none of the cash recipients ended up using the money.
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/14793-japan-drop-charges-against-100-people-involved-in-vote-buying
#13521601 at 2021-04-27 03:36:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #17125: Why Are Dems And Rinos Trying To Stop The AZ Audit? Edition
Japan's ruling party defeated in parliamentary by-elections amid COVID-19 surge
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party lost all three parliamentary seats in by-elections, delivering a blow to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga ahead of general elections in October. The LDP's candidates were crushed at the polls Sunday as the Suga administration failed to live up to public expectations amid the coronavirus pandemic. Suga's approval rating plummeted to below 40% this year as COVID-19 cases rose in the country, Kyodo News reported Monday. Corruption allegations also have dogged the ruling party. The by-elections in Hiroshima and Hokkaido were held to fill seats vacated by former ruling party lawmakers. Politicians had resigned after they were accused of buying votes and bribery, NHK reported Monday.
The Hiroshima election was held after Anri Kawai, wife of former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, lost her seat. Anri Kawai was found guilty of "vote-buying" during a 2019 election, according to Kyodo. "Voters passed a severe judgment on the Suga Cabinet," said main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan secretary general Tetsuro Fukuyama. "It is the result of a buildup of people's discontent over scandals involving politics and money and the novel coronavirus response." Suga may have not hit the campaign trail on behalf of his party's candidates. According to Kyodo, the prime minister did not travel to Hiroshima or Nagano prefectures during the campaign to show support for his party.
Lack of voter interest also may have hindered turnout, which was the lowest on record for Nagano and Hokkaido at 44.4% and 30.46%, respectively, according to the report. Leading Japanese newspapers are blaming the government for the defeat. The Asahi Shimbun said in an editorial statement that the government's coronavirus response and the "money issues" of ruling party politicians were responsible for their loss. A poll conducted from Friday to Sunday by local paper Nikkei showed 65% of respondents in Japan said they disapprove of Suga's handling of the deadly virus. Japan has said the Tokyo Olympics is to proceed as planned, despite declaring a state of emergency Friday for key regions.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2021/04/26/Japans-ruling-party-defeated-in-parliamentary-by-elections-amid-COVID-19-surge/4321619449375/
#10075634 at 2020-07-25 20:32:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #12895: PAIN Is the Only Cure Edition
Japan PM Abe takes summer snap election off the table; fall poll still possible
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe does not plan to dissolve Japan's House of Representatives early for a snap election this summer, he has informed government and ruling party executives. According to several of these executives, Abe is also unreceptive to the idea of dissolving the powerful lower house at the beginning of the extraordinary Diet session this autumn, and will concentrate instead on policy to battle the recent resurgence in novel coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, some within the government are apparently pushing for a temporary cut in the consumption tax rate to give a significant boost to Japan's pandemic-battered economy. Depending on how the situation develops going forward, there remains the possibility of a general election suddenly being called sometime from the beginning of autumn onward, with the tax rate reduction as the central campaign issue.
The main proponent of the summer lower house dissolution plan was Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, who had frequent meetings with Abe from June onward to advocate for the idea. However, he apparently never got the prime minister's assent. With coronavirus cases surging again mainly in Tokyo, many in the ruling coalition urged caution, including Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai, who commented, "There are things that are more important to do now than dissolve (the lower house)."
Additionally, the indictment of former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai and his lawmaker wife Anri for alleged election law violations during Anri's campaign for a House of Councillors' seat, and the chaos surrounding the rollout of the government's "Go To Travel" tourism promotion scheme appear to have sapped the party's desire for an early general election. Still, the prospect of an early lower house dissolution has prompted ruling party lawmakers to rev up their activities in their local constituencies across Japan. One LDP executive commented, "There will be an election sooner or later. (The possibility) has made the party tighten up internally."
Prime Minister Abe is set to reshuffle the Cabinet and the LDP's executive leadership in around September to better address the coronavirus crisis.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200725/p2a/00m/0na/002000c
#9771344 at 2020-06-28 00:53:39 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #12506: E-Bake Edition
More Japan politicians admit accepting cash from ex-justice minister, but few resign
While more and more politicians are admitting to accepting money in a vote-buying scandal involving husband-and-wife Japanese lawmakers Katsuyuki and Anri Kawai, many are sticking to a policy of "no comment." With two mayors already having resigned or having indicated their intention to resign, shockwaves are running throughout the couple's constituencies in Hiroshima Prefecture in western Japan. Katsuyuki is a former justice minister who is a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, and Anri is a legislator in the House of Councillors. Both were members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), but left the party before they were arrested on suspicion of violating the Public Offices Election Law.
The couple was arrested specifically on suspicion of handing out cash to 40 politicians in Hiroshima Prefecture, 21 of whom have told the Mainichi Shimbun that they accepted money from the couple.
Hiroshi Kodama, the mayor of the Hiroshima Prefecture city of Akitakata, received 600,000 yen (approx. $5,600) from Katsuyuki. Kodama appeared at a June 26 press conference with a shaved head and said, "I have worried many people. I sincerely apologize." As for whether he was going to stay at his post, he told reporters, "I will decide after hearing the voices of my support association and city residents."
About his shaved head, he said, "I thought that I must first show that I am remorseful, and decided to change my hairstyle." It is a Japanese tradition to shave one's head to show remorse or regret, particularly among men.
Kazuyuki Sakikawa, the speaker of the Akitakata Municipal Assembly; Shingo Mito, the assembly's vice speaker; and assembly member Toshiharu Aohara all held news conferences to reveal that they had accepted cash from Katsuyuki.
Sakikawa and Mito each met with Katsuyuki in the assembly speaker's office and the assembly vice speaker's office, respectively, in late March of 2019, where they received the money. Mito said he was told, "Please help us out."
Aohara, meanwhile, met Katsuyuki in early June of the same year when Katsuyuki visited him at home. He was given posters and flyers, along with an envelope. When prosecutors pointed out that there had been 100,000 yen (approx. $930) in the envelope, Aohara says he admitted it and signed a statement. He has explained, "I burned the envelope after the election, so I don't know any details."
Hiroshima Municipal Assembly members Osamu Taniguchi and Masaaki Okimune admitted in front of the media on June 26 that they, too, had accepted money from the Kawais. Okimune told a press conference that he accepted a total of 500,000 yen (approx. $4,700) on two different occasions from Katsuyuki. The first time was in April 2019, after he won a seat in the municipal assembly. Katsuyuki congratulated Okimune on the electoral victory at the latter's office and gave him 300,000 yen (approx. $2,800). The second time was in June, when Katsuyuki visited Okimune at home and said, "Please help out my wife." Katsuyuki left 200,000 yen (approx. $1,900) in cash at the house.
Admitting that he wrote 3,000 postcards asking his acquaintances to vote for Anri in the 2019 upper house election, Okimune said, "I thought that if I returned the money, I would cause (Katsuyuki Kawai) to lose face. I used the money for day-to-day expenses." He added, "I felt like I should explain myself someday, but I'd been stopped from doing so by prosecutors. If I'm indicted, I'll resign."
moar here
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200627/p2a/00m/0fp/013000c
#9656275 at 2020-06-18 06:42:23 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #12359: Will the Last Policeman in Atlanta Please Turn Out the Light? Edition
>>9656256
Former Japanese Justice Minister and Wife Arrested for Suspected Vote Buying, Reports Suggest
A former Japanese justice minister and his lawmaker wife have been arrested on suspicion of vote-buying, according to the public broadcaster NHK.
According to media reports, prosecutors suspect former justice minister Katsuyuki Kawai and his wife Anri Kawai of offering millions of yen in cash to people prior to the upper house elections in 2019, in which his wife won a seat.
Voter support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had close ties to the minister, has declined over his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, uproar over efforts to extend top prosecutors' retirement age, and some questions about the government's support of tourism and smaller companies.
Earlier, Shinzo Abe called on residents not to relax with the onset of hot weather, since high temperatures do not mean the absence of the coronavirus infection, and cited the situation in Qatar with a traditionally hot climate.
The overall number of COVID-19 cases in Japan has reached 17,628, including 931 fatalities, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
https://sputniknews.com/asia/202006181079647407-former-japanese-justice-minister-and-wife-arrested-for-suspected-vote-buying-reports-suggest/
#8744269 at 2020-04-10 10:19:00 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #11196: Good Friday Edition
Offices of Hiroshima politicians linked to ex-justice minister
raided
APR 10, 2020
"Public prosecutors searched offices and other places related to members of the assembly of Hiroshima Prefecture on Thursday over an election campaign scandal involving former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, it has been learned.
The assembly members included one whose home was also searched. This member supported the campaign of Kawai's wife, Anri, in the July 2019 House of Councilors election, helping her recruit announcers who spoke from vehicles to introduce the candidate, informed sources said.
Katsuyuki Kawai, 57, is suspected to have given cash to local politicians with the intention of gaining their support for gathering votes for his wife, according to the sources.
The assembly member whose home was searched, speaking to the press, denied receiving cash from Kawai, a House of Representatives lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who became justice minister later in 2019.
Endorsed by the LDP, Anri Kawai, 46, won one of the two Upper House seats contested in the Hiroshima constituency in the election."
moar:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/04/10/national/crime-legal/offices-hiroshima-ex-justice-minister-raided/
#7901108 at 2020-01-24 19:20:37 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #10111: The Rudy [BOOM] [BOOM] Giuliani Edition
Lawmaker accused of election law violations received 150 mil. yen from LDP before campaign
TOKYO – House of Councillors member Anri Kawai, who has been accused of election law violations, received some 150 million yen from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headquarters before the race – far more than her rival candidate backed by the same party, it has emerged. Kawai won her upper house seat for the first time in the July 2019 election. The amount she received was about 10 times the amount remitted to the campaign office of her fellow party contender Kensei Mizote, who was given 15 million yen. The huge gap exposes the LDP headquarters' commitment to Kawai, the wife of former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, who is close to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The LDP had fielded both Anri Kawai and Mizote as its official candidates in a bid to win the two seats that were up for grabs in the Hiroshima constituency in the 2019 upper house contest. Mizote, former minister of state for disaster management, had sought to secure his sixth term in the chamber.
The offices of the Kawais were raided by the Hiroshima District Public Prosecutors Office on Jan. 15 on suspicion that Anri's campaign office paid daily allowances exceeding the legal limit in the July 2019 upper house race. The Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine reported on Jan. 23 that the LDP headquarters had remitted a total of 150 million yen to the party's branch offices headed by Anri and Katsuyuki Kawai, respectively, between April and June 2019 – ahead of the upper house race.
Speaking to reporters in the Diet on Jan. 23, Anri admitted having received the funds. "There is no illegality, as I'm going to list the money in a political funding report," she said.
With regard to the huge sum, she said, "As it was after mid-April that the LDP branch (that I head) was set up and I started my political activities, the party had to expand its strength over a mere 2 1/2-month period (before the upper house poll). That's why the funds were intensively injected over a short span of time."
Based on records it has obtained, Shukan Bunshun reported that 75 million yen each was remitted to the LDP's Hiroshima Prefecture No. 7 upper house constituency, which Anri heads, and the party's Hiroshima Prefecture No. 3 constituency branch, headed by Katsuyuki, in several installments. Most of the funds remitted to Katsuyuki's branch were subsequently redirected to Anri's, according to the magazine's quoting of a source close to the investigation.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200124/p2a/00m/0na/017000c
#7852618 at 2020-01-19 05:58:47 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #10051:The Best Is Yet To Come Edition
Japan lawmaker aide admits illegality in election campaign scandal
HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) – A secretary of Japanese lawmaker Anri Kawai, wife of a former justice minister, has admitted knowing that payments made to campaign staff during last year's upper house election were illegal, sources close to the matter said Sunday.
The election campaign office of Kawai, who won a seat for the Liberal Democratic Party in July's House of Councillors election, is suspected of covering up payments to staff that were double the amount permitted under Japan's election law. The state-paid political aide has told Hiroshima prosecutors during voluntary questioning that he was involved in providing daily allowance payments totaling 30,000 yen ($272) to a group of "election warblers," as women who are driven around in small vans touting their candidates over loudspeakers are known, according to the sources.
On Wednesday, the prosecutors searched the offices of the lawmaker and her husband, Katsuyuki Kawai, a lower house member of the ruling party, as well as the home of the secretary, who was in charge of coordinating plans for the staff members during the election campaign. The campaign office is suspected of making two receipts to be signed by the workers to make it appear the payments were under the legal cap of 15,000 yen per day.
Hiring skilled campaign staff for the election was seen as important as the LDP headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sought to win both closely-contested seats in the constituency of Hiroshima for the first time in 21 years. The prosecutors are investigating whether the lawmaker and the former justice minister, who was active in recruiting the campaign staff, were involved in deciding the payment amounts.
The secretary used to be an aide to Katsuyuki Kawai, who resigned as justice minister in October after a weekly magazine first reported the allegation. After the election, he became an official secretary of his wife, who is in her first term as a lawmaker. Some of the campaign staffers have already admitted to receiving a 30,000 yen allowance under voluntarily interrogations by the prosecutors, investigative sources said earlier.
The Kawais have denied any intention to resign as lawmakers or as LDP members.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200119/p2g/00m/0na/018000c