Japanese Diet member Takaki Shirasuka, who allegedly accepted cash from a Chinese gaming company looking to break into the country’s nascent integrated resort industry, said he is “fully cooperating” with law enforcement in the investigation.
According to the Nikkei, Shirasuka allegedly took JPY1 million (US$9,350) in cash from 500.com, a Chinese company also implicated in the scandal.
In December 2017, Shirasuka toured China at the invitation of 500.com along with Rep. Tsukasa Akimoto, who has been indicted for bribery, and former Rep. Shigeaki Katsunuma, and the company paid for his travel expenses. The trio visited 500.com’s headquarters in Shenzhen, met with company executives and also inspected a shopping mall in Macau. Shirasuka and Katusnuma reportedly received JPY1 million in cash during the trip from a former advisor to the company, Katsunori Nakazato, also accused of bribery, reported Inside Asian Gaming.
On July 14, Shirasuka’s office stated, “We are fully cooperating with the authority’s investigation. Katsunuma added, “I am cooperating with the authority’s investigation and have explained I did nothing illegal, so that is the end of it.”
Akimoto, who served as the Deputy Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and was the cabinet deputy minister in charge of IR development from September 2017 to February 2018, has been charged with taking bribes of JPY7.6 million (US$71,000) from 500.com, presumably to help them in their attempt to enter the Japanese IR market. Akimoto has denied the charges.
