Daijiro Hashimoto

The 57-year-old governor, the younger brother of former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, was re-elected in November last year for a four-year term and said Oct. 7 that he would seek re-election.

Although no official dates have been set, campaigning for the election is expected to start Nov. 11, with voting to take place Nov. 28.

In September, a prefectural assembly committee compiled a report on the alleged transaction between the former chief of the secretariat of Hashimoto's support association and a construction company that was awarded a dam construction contract by the prefecture.

The report alleges that when Hashimoto was running for governor for the first time in 1991, his secretariat chief borrowed ¥100 million from the chairman of the association to finance the campaign and used funds provided by the construction company to repay the chairman.

The loan was repaid within three months of Hashimoto first being elected as Kochi governor Dec. 1, 1991. A consortium that included the construction company was awarded a dam contract in January 1994.

The Japan Times Weekly: Oct. 16, 2004
(C) All rights reserved