Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Chiyomi Kobayashi, despite expectations she will step down to take responsibility for a campaign money scandal, said March 22 that she is staying put.

Chiyomi Kobayashi, a Lower House member from the Democratic Party of Japan, said at a news conference March 22 that she has no intention of resigning. KYODO PHOTO

"I have no intention to leave the party or resign (as a Lower House lawmaker). I will work harder than ever in the Diet and the local community," she said at a news conference.

Kobayashi's decision followed Sapporo prosecutors' indictment earlier in the day of a top official of the Hokkaido Teachers Union and an accountant on charges they were involved in the flow of illegal donations to her election office.

The 41-year-old Kobayashi has denied taking part in any financial misconduct and said earlier she would decide on whether to resign depending on how the prosecutors dealt with the matter.

The Sapporo District Public Prosecutor's Office on March 22 indicted Hideki Osada, the 50-year-old acting chairman of the Hokkaido Teachers Union, and Michiru Kimura, 46, who is alleged to have received the donations as chief accountant for Kobayashi's campaign.

They were among four people arrested March 1 on suspicion that union officials provided ¥16 million in illegal donations to Kobayashi's campaign between December 2008 and last July.

During the campaign, the Hokkaido Teachers Union threw its full support behind Kobayashi in the Hokkaido No. 5 district. Osada was her campaign manager.

Kobayashi was first elected to the Lower House in 2003 but lost her seat in 2005. She made a comeback in last August's election.