The Liberal Democratic Party is ready to expel Hiroshi Kondo, one of its members in the House of Representatives, after his arrest for alleged vote-buying in the campaign for the Nov. 9 general election, according to senior party lawmakers.
The party will finalize his expulsion in its discipline committee Tuesday, the lawmakers said.
Aichi Prefectural Police handed Kondo, 42, over to prosecutors Sunday on allegations he violated the Public Offices Election Law by giving 1 million yen to a campaign aide at his home in Nagoya around Oct. 10 to buy votes.
He denied the money was intended for vote-buying and said he was paying the expenses for miscellaneous goods necessary for the campaign, according to the police.
In connection with the charges, Kondo's two campaign workers -- Noriyoshi Tani, 38, and Masato Hayashi, 23 -- have been arrested and indicted.
Kondo, a former member of the Aichi Prefectural Assembly, was defeated in the Aichi No. 4 district by a candidate from the Democratic Party of Japan but was elected to the Lower House from the proportional representation bloc.
