The Tokyo District Court has granted grant bail to Tsukasa Akimoto, the 49-year-old member of Japan’s House of Representatives on trial for bribery in a case related to the nation’s burgeoning integrated resort industry.
Bail was set at JPY80 million (US$732,000) on Monday with Akimoto believed to have already paid the full amount. The Tokyo High Court also dismissed the prosecution’s appeal.
Akimoto was released on bail when arrested on charges of bribery in February 2020 but was re-arrested in August under suspicion of bribing a witness to commit perjury and has been detained for approximately nine months. During that period, Akimoto had made multiple bail requests but until now all had been rejected.
He has consistently claimed his innocence but four other people involved in the allegations have admitted to bribery charges and been found guilty of bribery and/or attempting to get a witness to commit perjury. All four have been sentenced.
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