The Tokyo District Court recently sentenced Masahiko Konno and Katsunori Nakazato to prison terms for bribing a Japanese lawmaker with $72,000 in 2017 and 2018 for a casino license. The two men were associated with 500.com Ltd, a Chinese gambling organization seeking to enter Japan’s growing casino market.
In his ruling, Presiding Judge Toshihiko Niwa wrote Konno and Nakazato received information about gambling legislation “as a result of extravagant wining and dining” of Tsukasa Akimoto, formerly senior vice-minister in the Cabinet Office and a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Niwa stated the two men “severely undermined the impartiality of duties and public trust in a large-scale project promoted by the government.”
The defendants’ lawyers had requested leniency since the Chinese company dropped its bid to enter Japan’s casino market and the bribes had no impact. Still, Konno, 49, was sentenced to two years in prison and suspended for three years, and Nakazato, 48, was sentenced to one year and 10 months in prison and also suspended for three years, according to the ruling.
Akimoto managed the government’s initiative to legalize casinos at integrated casino resorts. He left the LDP prior to his arrest last December for taking bribes in the casino corruption scandal. He resumed political activities following his release on bail in February. Last month, he was indicted on a charge of offering money to Konno and Nakazato in exchange for false, favorable court testimony.
Currently the casino project is on hold due to Covid-19 and the government postponed accepting bids from local governments to host casino resorts.
