Japan Panel Nixes Decision Not to Indict Hagiuda's Secretary

Tokyo, Nov. 5 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese panel of citizens has voted against a decision by prosecutors not to indict a then secretary of lawmaker Koichi Hagiuda over a slush funds scandal at the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

It is unreasonable not to prosecute the then secretary because of the maliciousness of the acts, the panel for the inquest of prosecution said.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office will reinvestigate the case and consider again whether to seek criminal punishment.

The same inquest panel in Tokyo had also voted against a decision not to indict a man who was the chief accountant for a political organization of lawmaker Hiroshige Seko over the scandal.

Hagiuda and related people, including the chief accountant of a political group he heads, were slapped with criminal complaints accusing them of violating the political funds control law mainly by failing to record a total of 27.28 million yen in political funds reports between 2018 and 2022. The funds were kickbacks from the LDP faction once led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]