Dec. 26 (UPI) — A lawmaker from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been arrested on bribery charges involving a Chinese gambling operator, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Officials charged Tsukasa Akimoto, 48, with accepting a $27,000 bribe from 500.com Ltd., which is based in Shenzhen, China. They said the lawmaker took the money in 2017 as the company sought to become one of the first gambling operators to enter Japan’s newly legalized casino-resort market.
Akimoto, who in 2012 successfully ran for a seat in Japan’s House of Representatives, denied wrongdoing.
“I have never been involved in wrongdoing at all. I will continue to assert that,” he said in a Twitter post.
Known as a staunch pro-gambling advocate, Akimoto was in charge of the government’s policy on new casinos as a senior vice minister in Abe’s cabinet, also serving as senior vice minister for the tourism ministry.
Akimoto resigned from the party after his arrest Wednesday.
Japan legalized integrated resort-casinos last year as a way to boost tourism after the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Three such facilities are allowed under the new law. 500.com was seeking to gain the franchise for a possible casino in Hokkaido, Kyodo News Agency reported.
Tokyo prosecutors also searched the offices of two more LDP members Wednesday in connection with the case. NHK reported that authorities targeted current LDP lawmaker Takaki Shirasuka and former lawmaker Shigeaki Katsunuma.
