Anri Kawai

Anri Kawai (河井 案里, Kawai Anri, born 23 September 1973) is a Japanese politician, formerly of the Liberal Democratic Party, and a former member of the House of Councillors in the Diet. Her husband is member of the House of Representatives and former Minister of Justice Katsuyuki Kawai. Born in Nobeoka, Miyazaki and a graduate of Keio University, she served in the assembly of Hiroshima Prefecture for four terms. On the 20th January 2021, at the Tokyo District Court, she was convicted of vote-buying in the 2019 House of Councillors election.[1]

Anri Kawai
河井 案里
June 2019
Member of the House of Councillors
In office
21 July 2019 – 3 February 2021
Personal details
Born (1973-09-23) 23 September 1973
Miyazaki, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Political partyLiberal Democratic Party →
Independent
Spouse(s)Katsuyuki Kawai
Alma materKeio University
ProfessionPolitician
Websitehttp://www.anrinet.com/

Election to the House of Councillors
22 June 2019: campaigning with then Secretary-General Suga

In 2019, with the active support of party leaders such as Secretary-General Nikai and then Secretary-General Yoshihide Suga, Kawai campaigned for election to the House of Councillors. On 21 July, with 295,871 (29.0%) votes she was elected for Hiroshima in second place.[2] In August of the same year, she joined the Sunflower Society (向日葵会), a group of 17 non-faction members who support Secretary of State Suga.[3]

Accusation of violation of public offices election law

After a report in the weekly magazine, Shukan Bunshun, that Anri Kawai's election office had allegedly paid campaign announcers a daily amount that exceeded the permitted legal limit, her husband Katsuyuki Kawai announced his resignation as Minister for Justice on 30 October 2019.[4] Further revelations followed that the headquarters of the governing Liberal Democratic Party had transferred an unusually large amount of 150 million yen to the local Hiroshima office, prior to the election.[5]

On 7 April 2020, the Mayor of Akiōta, Hiroshima resigned for having accepted 200,000 yen from Katsuyuki Kawai.[6] Other alleged recipients of the cash gifts included several elected representatives in Akitakata, Hiroshima, amongst them the Mayor, the Speaker of the Municipal Assembly and the vice-Speaker.[7] Hiroshi Kodama, the mayor of Akitakata, received 600,000 yen and appeared at a news conference on 26 June 2020 with a shaved head to express his remorse.[7] A list of at least 100 recipients of money, including prefectural and municipal politicians from the Hiroshima prefecture, as well as members of the couple's campaign groups, was found on a computer belonging to Katsuyuki Kawai after a raid on the couple's house and offices.[8]

On 16 June 2020, she and her husband, Katsuyuki Kawai, left the Liberal Democratic Party amidst the ongoing allegations of buying votes to aid her campaign for the House of Councilors.[9] They were later arrested by public prosecutors on 19 June 2020 on charges of vote-buying and distributing around 25 million yen to politicians and supporters in Hiroshima[10] in violation of the Public Office Elections Law.[9]

Subsequently, in July 2020, the Hiroshima district and high court ruled that a state-paid secretary to Anri Kawai paid 2.04 million yen in total to 14 members of Kawai's campaign staff between 19 and 23 July 2019 during the election to the House of Councillors, an amount which implied payments higher than the legal limit of 15,000 yen per person per day. As a result, the secretary received a punishment of 18 months in prison, suspended for 5 years.[11] In the wake of the conviction, the Hiroshima High Public Prosecutors Office filed a lawsuit to cancel Anri Kawai's 2019 election victory, on the basis of guilt by association as defined under the Japanese Public Offices Election Law.[12]

Conviction for vote buying and Sentence

At the Tokyo District Court, on the 20th January, 2021, Anri Kawai was sentenced to a year and four months in prison, suspended for five years. The court ruled that her distribution of money to local legislators in Hiroshima was in violation of the Public Offices Election Law. In the indictment, one member of the Etajima Municipal Assembly and four members of the Prefectural Assembly admitted receiving cash payments of ¥1.7 million in total. The local politicians stated that they believed Anri Kawai and her husband passed them the money to secure support for Anri Kawai in the Upper House election of 2019.[1]

References
  1. "Japan lawmaker Anri Kawai guilty of vote-buying in 2019 election". Nikkei Asia. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  2. 日本放送協会. ""仁義なき戦い" 敗者は誰か | 特集記事". NHK政治マガジン (in Japanese). Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  3. "また「菅人事」で失敗 辞任ドミノ、ポスト安倍に影響も". 朝日新聞デジタル. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  4. "Japan's justice minister to quit over wife's alleged election law breach". Kyodo News. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  5. "LDP transferred 150 million yen to candidate now hit by scandal". Asahi Shimbun. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  6. "Japan mayor tenders resignation over receiving cash from ex-minister in bribery scandal". The Mainichi. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  7. "More Japan politicians admit accepting cash from ex-justice minister, but few resign". The Mainichi. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  8. "Japan ex-justice minister, wife may have handed $280k to over 100 people in vote buying". The Mainichi. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  9. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/06/b35b3c0c5c48-urgent-ex-justice-minister-wife-plan-to-leave-ldp-over-election-scandal.html
  10. Sugiyama, Satoshi (18 June 2020). "Former top Abe aide and wife arrested in vote-buying scandal". The Japan Times. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  11. "Japan lawmaker closer to losing seat over election law violation". The Mainichi. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  12. Abe, Shunsuke (2 July 2020). "Aide's conviction will likely lead to loss of Anri's seat in Upper House". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
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