Kimihito Kamori sentenced to 10-month jail time in Japanese bribery trial

In a Japanese trial based on lawmaker Tsukasa Akimoto and 500.com, former tourism chairman Kamori Kanko Co, Kimihito Kamori, was sentenced to a 10-month prison term.

On behalf of Chinese casino company 500.com Kamori has been found guilty of bribing legislator Akimoto.

The 77-year-old conspired to the gambling business with two former advisors to persuade Akimoto, then a member of the Japan house of representatives, to accept the 500.com proposal for an integrated Hokkaido resort scheme.

In February 2018, Kamori welcomed Akimoto and his family to Hokkaido and paid 760,000 yen ($7,211) in charges, according to the presiding judge at the Tokyo district court.

The prosecution argued that Kamori followed only the orders of the 500.com advisors and begged the court to spare him a jail term. The judge ruled that Kamori had "seriously compromised the dignity of duties and the people's trust," and sentenced him to a jail term of 10 months, suspended for two years.

Last month, in September 2017, the two former 500.com advisors agreed to send Akimoto ¥3m in cash. Through arranging trips to Hokkaido, Shenzhen and Macau, the organization is reported to have given an extra ¥4.6m worth of bribes.