Photo/Illutration Former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai meets with reporters in Tokyo on Jan. 15. (Shogo Koshida)

A former justice minister and his wife said they will not resign from the ruling party or the Diet after investigators searched their home and offices for evidence in a vote-buying scandal.

Katsuyuki Kawai apologized to reporters on Jan. 15 in his first public appearance since he stepped down as justice minister on Oct. 31 over allegations that his wife, Anri, overpaid her campaign staff members in the Upper House election in July last year.

He insisted he would not leave the ruling Liberal Democratic Party nor step down as a Lower House member. Citing the ongoing investigation, Katsuyuki did not go into detail about the suspicions surrounding his wife’s campaign.

Anri met separately with reporters and also said she would remain an LDP member and Upper House lawmaker.

Katsuyuki left the Cabinet after a weekly magazine reported that payments to Anri’s campaign staff exceeded limits established by the Public Offices Election Law. Anri won a seat in the Upper House from the Hiroshima prefectural district in that election.

The searches on Jan. 15 were conducted by the Hiroshima District Public Prosecutors Office.

A citizens’ group in Hiroshima Prefecture and others filed a criminal complaint last autumn, asking for an investigation into payments made to Anri’s staff members who rode in campaign cars and called on people to vote for the candidate.

The law limits daily wages to under 15,000 yen ($140).

Sources close to the investigation said prosecutors were looking for evidence that a male campaign staff worker who became an aide to Anri after she won her seat paid 30,000 yen a day each to 13 campaign workers who rode along in the campaign car.

The man was a former aide to Katsuyuki.

Such overpayments could constitute buying off campaign staffers to gain votes.

Prosecutors will also look into the possible involvement of Katsuyuki in his wife’s campaign, the sources said.

Investigators have questioned those involved in the campaign on a voluntary basis since late last year and obtained their mobile phones, the sources said.

One woman who rode in the campaign car for Anri responded to questions from The Asahi Shimbun last autumn and denied any illegalities.

She said she received a total of 120,000 yen for eight days of work. But she also explained that she had received another 120,000 yen before the official start of the campaign to pay for what she said were supplies.

Under the Public Offices Election Law, even if the candidate in question was not directly involved in violating any legal provisions, he or she could have their election revoked if an individual in a high enough position in the campaign is found guilty of breaking the law.

Those suspected of exceeding the daily payment amount for staff riding in campaign cars face a maximum penalty of three years in prison or a fine of up to 500,000 yen.

The investigation could prove to be another major headache for the government and the ruling coalition because the Kawais are closely tied politically to both Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.

After the ordinary Diet session opens on Jan. 20, opposition parties will likely demand answers concerning the allegations surrounding Anri’s election campaign.

They are also expected to bring up the arrest of a then-LDP lawmaker on suspicion of receiving bribes from a Chinese company seeking to operate a casino-resort in Japan, as well as the scandal over taxpayer-funded cherry blossom viewing parties hosted by Abe.

The Upper House election in July for the two seats in Hiroshima Prefecture led to some criticism within the LDP because the party already had an incumbent running there.

However, Anri was given support from both Abe and Suga during the campaign, and she came in second, leaving the incumbent in third place and out of the Diet.