Katsuyuki Kawai

Kawai was born in Mihara city,^[5][6] Hiroshima Prefecture, where he lived until kindergarten. The family rented two six-and-a-half mat rooms,^[6] and used the public bath.^[5] His elementary school years were in Asaminami Ward of Hiroshima, attending the Yasu Elementary School and then the Hiroshima Academy Junior and Senior High School.

In 1985 he graduated from the Faculty of Law at Keio University, specializing in political science, and then enrolled in the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management in Chigasaki.^[7] Among his classmates at the Institute were Nobuhiro Tanabe and Toshiyuki Nara, the mayor of Echizen. In 1988 he gained experience as an international trainee of local government in Office of Management and Budget of Dayton, Ohio.^[8] In 1990 he graduated from the Matsushita Institute and returned to Hiroshima.

In 1991 Kawai stood for election in Asaminami Ward, and was elected to the Hiroshima Prefectural Assembly.

During the 1993 Japanese general election his bid for the House of Representatives was unsuccessful, coming in sixth out of eight candidates. In the 1996 Japanese general election he succeed in defeating Yoshitake Masuhara of the New Frontier Party, becoming the representative of from Hiroshima District Three. However, he lost this position in the 2000 Japanese general election to his former opponent Yoshitake Masuhara (at that time not affiliated with any political party); his supporters pointed out, "The main reason for your defeat is that you are still single." During the period when he was still bemoaning his election loss, a friend introduced him to Anri Maeda, an employee of the Science and Technology Agency; they had supper together in Tokyo, then went to a karaoke snack bar in Akasaka, where Anri sang Amagi-goe. It was love at first sight, and they decided to start a serious relationship that night.^[9] On 20 April 2001, they held their wedding in a Hiroshima hotel.^[10][11][12]

Subsequently, Masuhara joined the LDP, and the two rivals agreed to use the so-called "Costa Rica system" under Japan's parallel voting system, in which they alternated running in the single-member tier or the proportional representation (PR) tier. In the 2003 election Kawai ran in the PR block, coming in second and thus returning to the National Diet, where he served as parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Second and Third Koizumi Cabinets. In 2007, he became the State Minister of Justice in the First Abe Cabinet (2006–2007) and subsequent Fukuda Cabinet (2007–2008).

In the 2009 election he ran in the PR block, and was again elected. In June 2011 he joined the Kisaragi Kai, a newly formed political association centered on Kunio Hatoyama, who had been the Minister of Justice (2007-2008); Kawai served as chief secretary of the association.^[13]

By the mid-2010s, Kawai served as special advisor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.^[14] In October 2016, Kawai arranged for the attendance of Filipino-Chinese businessman Sammy Uy, a non-government official, in the meeting between Abe and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.^[15] Prior to the meeting, he made several visits to the Philippines which involved meetings with president Duterte and a visit to a drug rehabilitation center in the city of Taguig.^[15]

Kawai Katsuyuki's wife Anri won a seat from the Hiroshima District in the 2019 Japanese House of Councillors election (21 July 2019), her first electoral win, against a background of Kawai's attempts to purchase votes for her between March and August of that year, distributing about 25.7 million yen ($280,000) in cash to about 100 politicians, mayors, and supporters.^[16][17][18] As a result of the election Kawai became Minister of Justice in the Fourth Realignment of the Second Stint Abe Cabinet, but as suspicions of voter bribery began to surface, he stepped down after six weeks (in office: 2019 September 11 until October 31). After further investigation, the final charges mentioned a total of 29 million yen to 100 officials.

Katsuyuki Kawai In April 2021, Kawai resigned his position as Representative. On 18 June 2021, Kawai was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 1.3 million yen ($12,000) for vote buying.^[3] He began serving his term in the Tokyo Detention House.

Anri Kawai At the Tokyo District Court, on 20 January 2021, Anri Kawai was sentenced to a year and four months in prison, suspended for five years.^[19]

Recipients of bribes As of 6 July 2021, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office is preparing to drop charges against all of the 100 local assembly members and others who allegedly received cash. Typically criminal charges will be brought against offenders who accept bribes of 1 million yen (about $9,024), but in this case arguments are being made that: (1) the bribes were forced on the recipients, and (2) they did not use the funds to buy votes (i.e. did not further distribute the funds through their political connections).^[20]

In the election violation case involving former Minister of Justice Katsuyuki Kawai, the prosecution pursued charges exclusively against Kawai for vote-buying, despite the legal principle that both the giver and recipient of illicit payments are equally culpable under Japan’s Public Offices Election Act.^[21] As a result, approximately 100 local politicians who allegedly received cash were not prosecuted.^[22]

Kawai’s defense team criticized this approach as an "abuse of prosecutorial discretion" and a violation of the principle of "equality under the law.^[23]" While plea bargaining is not legally permitted in election law violations in Japan, investigative reports by Yomiuri Shimbun in 2023 revealed that prosecutors had allegedly suggested to local politicians during interrogations that they would avoid indictment if they testified against Kawai.^[24]

In May 2024, a Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office investigator reportedly admitted to guiding testimony in a similar case.^[25] The Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) stated in August 2023 condemning these prosecutorial practices, arguing that they undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system.^[26] Additionally, Japan’s judiciary has been noted for its high conviction rate, with the acquittal rate standing at 0.2% in 2023, according to JFBA data.^[27]