The Tokyo District Court on Thursday gave Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's former state-financed secretary a suspended two-year prison term for falsifying the political funding reports by Mr. Hatoyama's funds-management body.
Mr. Hatoyama dismissed the secretary last June and says he no longer has any ties with him. But the secretary appears to have wanted to prevent the case from dragging on and causing political trouble to Mr. Hatoyama. He fully admitted to the charges during the trial and will not appeal the sentence. He may have been worried that the case could damage the Democratic Party of Japan in the coming Upper House election.
The ruling said that the secretary falsely stated in 2004-2008 reports that Mr. Hatoyama's funding management body had collected ¥360 million in individual donations and ticket sales for a fundraising party. He also omitted ¥12 million in donations from Mr. Hatoyama's mother and sister from 2005-2008 reports and padded ¥30 million in fundraising-party ticket sales in 2006-2008 reports, according to the ruling.