河井元法相、控訴取り下げの意向　実刑判決確定へ―参院選買収

　２０１９年参院選をめぐる大型買収事件で公選法違反（買収、事前運動）罪に問われ、一審で実刑判決を受けた元法相で元衆院議員の河井克行被告（５８）が、控訴を取り下げる意向を示したことが１９日、関係者への取材で分かった。取り下げた場合、懲役３年、追徴金１３０万円とした東京地裁判決が確定する。
　河井被告は当初、全面無罪を主張したが、一審公判中に起訴内容の大半を認めて謝罪。弁護側は執行猶予付き判決を求めたが、地裁は今年６月、地元議員らへの現金提供は全て買収が目的で、「民主主義の根幹である選挙の公正を著しく害し、極めて悪質」として選挙違反では異例となる実刑判決を言い渡した。（2021/10/19-13:13）

Former Japanese Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai is planning to withdraw his appeal against a district court ruling that found him guilty of buying votes for his wife in a 2019 national election, informed sources said Tuesday.
   If the 58-year-old former House of Representatives lawmaker drops the appeal, the court order, in which he was sentenced to three years in prison without suspension and fined 1.3 million yen, will be finalized.
   Kawai had initially insisted on complete innocence over the high-profile vote-buying scandal, but admitted to most of the charges against him and made an apology during his trial at Tokyo District Court.
   While the defense side had asked for a suspended sentence, the district court in June this year handed down the prison sentence without suspension, a rare decision for an election law violation case.
   The court said that the money given to local assembly members and others was all intended to buy votes, and that it was an extremely malicious act that severely harmed the fairness of elections, the foundation of democracy.