DPJ lawmaker Konno submits resignation to lower house

DPJ lawmaker Konno submits resignation to lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Azuma Konno (L) hands a letter of resignation to House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono on April 28, a day after the Sendai High Court invalidated his victory in the 2003 general election because one of his campaign managers had been found guilty of illegal electioneering for the polls.

DPJ lawmaker Konno submits resignation to lower house

DPJ lawmaker Konno submits resignation to lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Azuma Konno (L) hands a letter of resignation to House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono on April 28, a day after the Sendai High Court invalidated his victory in the 2003 general election because one of his campaign managers had been found guilty of illegal electioneering for the polls. (Kyodo)

Ex-DPJ lawmaker sentenced to suspended 2-year prison term

Ex-DPJ lawmaker sentenced to suspended 2-year prison term

NAGOYA, Japan - The Nagoya District Court on Dec. 16 sentences former Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Kenji Kobayashi (file photo) to two years in prison, suspended for three years, for stimulant drug possession and use. Kobayashi was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2000 and was reelected in 2003. He lost his Diet seat in the Sept. 11 general election. (Kyodo)

Ozawa's secretary Okubo arrested over fund reporting scandal

Ozawa's secretary Okubo arrested over fund reporting scandal

TOKYO, Japan - In this file photo taken in October 2003, Takanori Okubo, secretary to Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa, stands behind Ozawa in the village of Noda, Iwate Prefecture, during general election campaigning. Okubo was arrested by prosecutors on Jan. 16, 2010, in connection with a scandal over political-fund reports linked to a land purchase by Ozawa's fund management body. (Kyodo)