In yet another case of political corruption, former Lower House member Muneo Suzuki, who once held important posts in the Cabinet and the Liberal Democratic Party, has been sentenced to two years in prison by the Tokyo District Court for bribery and other offenses. Significantly, the court did not grant a suspension, saying that "the defendant made irrational excuses from beginning to end and expressed no contrition whatsoever."

The two-year trial has revealed, yet again, a familiar pattern of money-for-favors politics: An influential politician receives a cash reward from a business that has secured a government contract through his intervention. The ruling states that Mr. Suzuki was given a total of 11 million yen by two companies in Hokkaido, his constituency, in the late 1990s.

The ruling also blames the government, though indirectly, saying that official intervention -- known as "kansei dango" (official collusion) -- took place. The term refers to the behind-the-scenes practice among public officials of deciding in advance of bidding which company will get a contract. The bidding that follows is reduced to a ritual designed to create a facade of fairness.