Jan 15, 2021
Osaka – Former agriculture minister Takamori Yoshikawa was indicted Friday by prosecutors without arrest for alleged bribery charges, after receiving ¥5 million from the former president of Akita Foods, a Hiroshima Prefecture-based egg producer, over several years.
Yoshikawa, 70, resigned as a Lower House member in late December over the scandal, citing health reasons, and has also left the Liberal Democratic Party.
The controversy is a political blow for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government, and is likely to be the subject of inquiries by opposition parties when the Diet convenes on Monday.
Who is Takamori Yoshikawa?
Yoshikawa was an LDP member in the Lower House representing a district in Hokkaido that includes parts of Sapporo.