The Tokyo District Court on Thursday handed a suspended two-year prison term to a former government-paid secretary to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama for falsely reporting the sources of political donations made to the prime minister's fundraising body.
Keiji Katsuba, 59, was found guilty of faking donations made by Hatoyama's mother, Yasuko, whose family founded the global tire conglomerate Bridgestone Corp.
"This is very regrettable and I feel very responsible," Hatoyama said in an e-mail to subscribers to the Cabinet's online magazine.