TOKYO (TR) – A court here on Thursday handed former House of Councilors member Megumi Hirose a suspended prison term for defrauding the government out of the salary of a public secretary who did not actually work at her office, reports the Mainichi Shimbun. (Mar. 27).
The Tokyo District Court handed Hirose, 58, a prison term of two years and six months in prison, suspended for five years. “Her motive was to unjustly obtain funds from the public as she was reluctant to reduce her personal assets by spending her own money. This is so shallow that it deserves strong criticism,” the ruling said.
According to the indictment, Hirose falsely reported that she had hired the wife of her first public secretary as her second public secretary in December 2022. Over the next year, she defrauded the government of a total of approximately 3.58 million yen in salary and retirement benefits.
During the trial, the prosecution explained that the defrauded funds were used for office operating expenses as well as personal purposes such as pocket money for her eldest daughter and food and drink expenses.
Meanwhile, Hirose admitted to the charges and explained that she had used the defrauded funds for political activities. “Political activities cost money, and I couldn’t keep it going without investing my own money,” she said.
The prosecution had sought a term of two years and six months. The defense argued that the wife of the first public secretary was registered as the second public secretary only as a stopgap measure until the next public secretary was found in seeking a suspended term.
Hirose was victorious as a candidate endorsed by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the House of Councillors election in July 2020. Last July, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Division searched her home seeking evidence in the case. She resigned from the LDP and her Diet position the following month.
