Photo/Illutration Hiromu Kurokawa, right, head of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office, and Makoto Hayashi, head of the Nagoya High Public Prosecutors Office, attend a meeting of senior prosecutors in Tokyo on Feb. 19. (Jun Miura)

A top prosecutor who resigned for gambling during the pandemic received a slap on the wrist after the Justice Ministry dropped plans for harsher penalties in talks with the prime minister’s office, sources said.

The ministry issued a warning to Hiromu Kurokawa, chief of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office, whose resignation was accepted by the Cabinet on May 22.

Many legal experts expected a more severe punishment considering that Kurokawa, as the nation’s second highest-ranking prosecutor, likely broke the law by wagering money at a mah-jongg game.

Most forms of gambling are illegal in Japan.

In addition, he played the mah-jongg game with Sankei Shimbun reporters and an Asahi Shimbun employee in Tokyo on May 1 and May 13, when the capital was under a state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic. The public was asked to stay home and avoid assembling in confined spaces to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The opposition bloc is poised to pursue how he received a warning instead of at least a reprimand. Kurokawa, who is seen as close to the Abe administration, had earlier been in the spotlight over the government’s apparent plan to promote him to prosecutor-general after extending his retirement age.

The allegation about Kurokawa’s gambling was first reported on a weekly magazine’s website on May 20.

The same day, Kurokawa admitted to wagering money at mah-jongg during an investigation by ministry officials.

Nobuo Inada, the prosecutor-general, or the head of the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, issued the warning against Kurokawa on May 21.

However, the ministry initially planned to reprimand Kurokawa, a disciplinary-measure category set under the national civil service law, based on the findings in its investigation, according to the sources.

The ministry conveyed its decision on the reprimand to officials at the prime minister’s office when the two sides discussed the matter.

But after the talks, both sides agreed on the lighter punishment of a warning, citing the Justice Ministry’s in-house rules, according to the sources.

Justice Minister Masako Mori said on May 22 that the Cabinet, which appoints top prosecutors and is the entity that formally issues such penalties, ultimately decided on Kurokawa’s punishment.

“After the Cabinet’s decision, I suggested to the prosecutor-general that such a penalty was appropriate,” she said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe did not mention his office’s role behind the lighter penalty when asked by reporters at a news conference on May 25.

“The Justice Ministry conveyed its opinion to the prosecutors office that the penalty of a warning is appropriate and the prosecutor-general concurred,” Abe said.

The warning is not expected to affect Kurokawa’s retirement payments under the national civil service law.

However, Abe said of Kurokawa’s retirement package, “I understand that it was cut because he received a penalty.”

Kurokawa’s post will be filled by Makoto Hayashi, chief of the Nagoya High Public Prosecutors Office, as of May 26, the Justice Ministry said.

By holding the top post at the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office, Hayashi will likely succeed Inada as the nation’s highest-ranking prosecutor.

Under a longtime tradition among prosecutors-general, Inada is expected to retire in the summer after serving two years at the position.

Hayashi has long been seen among ministry officials and other prosecutors as a leading candidate to replace Inada.

But the Abe government in late January decided to extend Kurokawa’s retirement age, which would allow him to take over the No. 1 post.

The government invoked a provision in the national public service law to grant the first-ever extension of the retirement age of any prosecutor, bypassing the Public Prosecutors Office Law, which stipulates the mandatory retirement age for the chief of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office is 63.

Legislation submitted to the Diet that would have given the Kurokawa-related move some legal backing was shelved after public criticism erupted over the plan.

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