県議ら３４人一転起訴　９人在宅、２５人略式―河井元法相らから現金・広島地検など

　２０１９年の参院選をめぐる大型買収事件で、広島地検などは１４日、河井克行元法相（５９）＝公選法違反罪で懲役３年の実刑確定＝らから現金を受領したとして、広島県議ら３４人を同法違反（被買収）罪で起訴した。いずれも同法違反容疑で告発されて不起訴となり、東京第６検察審査会が「起訴相当」と議決していた。
　３４人中、９人は在宅起訴。２５人は罰金刑を求める略式起訴とした。事件当時の肩書は、首長１人、広島県議１１人、県内市町議１７人、元国会議員秘書１人、選挙スタッフ４人。議決を受け再捜査した東京地検特捜部が３日付で広島地検に事件移送していた。
　起訴状によると、３４人は１９年３～８月、河井元法相と妻の案里元参院議員（４８）＝有罪確定＝から、案里氏への投票や票の取りまとめなどの趣旨で、総額約２０１０万円を受領したとされる。（2022/03/14-17:20）

Japanese prosecutors on Monday indicted 34 people for receiving cash from former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai in a high-profile vote-buying scandal over the 2019 House of Councillors election.
   According to the indictments, the 34 received a total of around 20.1 million yen from Kawai, 59, and his wife, Anri, 48, a former House of Councillors lawmaker, in March-August 2019. The cash was aimed at gathering votes for her in the Upper House election.
   Over the scandal, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office initially decided in July last year not to indict the 34, mainly local politicians in the western prefecture of Hiroshima, and others suspected of receiving cash from the couple.
   The indictment came, however, after a prosecution inquest panel in December reversed the initial decision by the prosecutors.
   Of the 34, nine were indicted without arrest and 25 faced a summary indictment seeking fines. They include a then head of a municipality, 11 who were Hiroshima prefectural assembly members at the time and 17 who were assembly members of municipalities in the same prefecture.