The Supreme Court has upheld a high court ruling that found a city mayor in Gifu Prefecture, who in 2013 became the youngest mayor in Japan, guilty of graf
GIFU – The Supreme Court has upheld a high court ruling that found a city mayor in Gifu Prefecture, who in 2013 became the youngest mayor in Japan, guilty of graft.
Minokamo Mayor Hiroto Fujii, now 33, told a news conference he will resign as of Thursday despite being unjustly convicted.
“I learned that the false charging and incrimination of an innocent person exist,” he told reporters in Minokamo.
Fujii also said he may file for a retrial against the top court’s decision, which was dated Monday.
The Nagoya High Court, in overturning a Nagoya District Court ruling that acquitted him, convicted Fujii of graft and sentenced him to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, and fined him ¥300,000 ($2,600).
Fujii was arrested in 2014 for allegedly accepting bribes while serving as a city assembly member.
