 Court delivers guilty verdict over illegal donation from dentists to former prime minister The Tokyo District Court on May 31 sentenced Usuda Sadao, former chair of the Japan Dentists Federation (JDF), to three years in prison with suspension of five years on charges of violating the Political Funds Control Law. Usuda on July 2, 2001, provided a check for 100 million yen to an LDP faction's study group (Heiseiken) led by former Prime Minister Hashimoto Ryutaro, but neither the JDF nor Heiseiken included this money in their political funds reports. The judge criticized the case for raising great suspicions about financial flows of the political action group to which many LDP lawmakers belonged. Usuda confessed in court that in addition to the 100 million yen in illegal donation, he had given former Prime Minister Hashimoto 10 million yen of JDF money in cash in December 2000. He testified that the money was used as a donation to an LDP political fund-managing organization in an indirect route leading to the Hashimoto faction. Out of 13 defendants, including Usuda, 10 were already convicted of bribery. Former Chief Cabinet Secretary and Hashimoto's aide Muraoka Kanezo, former dentist-turned LDP lawmaker Yoshida Yukihiro, and one other person concerned are still on trial on bribery charges. Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Sasaki Kensho on the same day commented, "It is a question of money for policies in the interest of medical circles. The LDP and its largest faction (former Hashimoto faction) bear grave responsibility." He said that the Diet should summon former Prime Minister Hashimoto for testimony in order to reveal the purpose of illegal donations and the money spent as well as to investigate into the indirect route of donations, which is against the law. - Akahata, June 1, 2005 |