Shizuka Kamei

Kokichi Iramina, 66, a former chairman of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly, was arrested Aug. 17 by Osaka Prefectural Police for allegedly handing ¥1 million in cash to Masao Kiyono, a 54-year-old former Niigata Prefectural Assembly member who was in charge of his Tokyo campaign office, before the July 11 poll.

Police allege that the money was a reward for activities in violation of the Public Offices Election Law. Iramina was running in the proportional representation segment of the ballot.

Iramina, whose election bid was unsuccessful, described the money as part of ¥2 million that he and Kiyono received from the Kamei side in Tokyo in mid-June, the sources said.

According to an investigation, Iramina came to Tokyo in mid-June after being told that the Kamei side would hand him some money "as encouragement" ahead of the election.

Iramina received ¥2 million in the presence of Kiyono, and handed ¥1 million to him as a reward for his campaigning efforts. Kiyono has also been arrested on a vote-buying charge.

The Japan Times Weekly: Aug. 28, 2004
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