Reiwa 7 (Wa) No. 35 Bribery Case

In early 2025, Masatoshi Akimoto, a member of the Japanese House of Representatives and former Vice Minister of the Environment, was arrested and indicted for accepting approximately 30 million yen in bribes from Masayuki Tsukawaki, president of Japan Wind Development Co. The bribes were allegedly given in exchange for Akimoto asking favorable parliamentary questions and promoting the company's offshore wind power projects. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Squad brought the case as Reiwa 7 (Wa) No. 35. The trial centered on whether the payments constituted bribes or legitimate political donations. In October 2025, the Tokyo District Court convicted Akimoto, sentencing him to two and a half years in prison, suspended for four years, and ordering the forfeiture of nearly 29.8 million yen.

Convicted; sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 4-year suspended sentence, and forfeiture of approximately 29.8 million yen.

Whether the money received by Akimoto was a bribe intended for specific official acts or a legal political donation, and if his Diet questions constituted a prosecutable quid pro quo under the bribery law.

The scandal deepened public distrust in the nexus of politics and money, accelerated legislative efforts to tighten political funding rules, and forced the government to enhance transparency in the approval process for renewable energy projects.