Japan prosecutors arrest ex-vice foreign minister in bribery case linked to wind power company
BY MARI YAMAGUCHI
Updated 10:09 AM EDT, September 7, 2023
TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo prosecutors said Thursday they have arrested the former vice foreign minister of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet on suspicion of accepting more than 61 million yen ($414,000) in bribes from a wind power company in return for his promotion of wind power and other favorable treatment.
Masatoshi Akimoto, 48, was arrested on suspicion of accepting the bribes, including 30 million yen ($204,000) in cash at his parliamentary office , from a wind power company executive on several occasions between February 2019 and June this year, prosecutors said.
Akimoto had stepped down as vice foreign minister and left Kishida’s governing Liberal Democratic Party in August after allegations surfaced and prosecutors raided his office as part of their bribery investigation.
Akimoto has advocated promotion of renewable energy and urged the government during parliamentary sessions in 2019 not to heavily regulate the waters off the coast of Aomori where the company, Japan Wind Development Co., was bidding for offshore wind power projects, Kyodo News agency reported.
https://apnews.com/article/japan-bribery-arrest-lawmaker-wind-power-12213337a4838ec9d402d266b890ef05
