Yukihiro Yoshida, a former Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, pleaded guilty Tuesday before the Tokyo District Court to buying votes during his unsuccessful campaign in last year's House of Representatives election.
Yoshida, 43, admitted during his first trial session to violating the Public Offices Election Law by conspiring with Yasushi Miwa, 60, former head of the Aichi prefectural dental association's political arm, to give a 2 million yen check to each of five local assembly members in the prefecture in September 2003. The five were asked to help with Yoshida's re-election bid.
Miwa and the five assembly members pleaded guilty during the same session.
Yoshida ran in the Aichi No. 3 constituency in November's Lower House election. He lost to a candidate from the Democratic Party of Japan.
Reading from a prepared statement, Yoshida told the court: "As a politician, I needed to be clean when it came to money. But I betrayed the expectations of the public and my supporters.
"I apologize from the bottom of my heart."
Prosecutors have charged Yoshida, who is also a dentist, with conspiring with former Japan Dental Association head Sadao Usuda, 73, and association executive Hirotake Uchida, 64, to embezzle 30 million yen of the dentist lobby's funds in August 2001 to help Usuda get re-elected.
Yoshida pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the embezzlement charge, saying the withdrawal of the money from the dentist group's account did not constitute conspiracy because he did not know the cash would be used to buy votes in the election for the chairmanship.
Usuda and Uchida are being tried separately.
The Japan Dental Association has been embroiled in several scandals in recent months, including a 100 million yen donation to the largest faction of the LDP in July 2001 that was not promptly included in political fund reports.
