Former House of Councillors member Anri Kawai’s complicated expression as she went to Tokyo Detention Center

I want him back!

I wondered if she had the famous Anri song from the 80’s, “Sadness Cannot Be Stopped,” playing in her head. …… I couldn’t help but think that this was a lonely scene.

A former member of the House of Councillors, Ms. Anri Kawai, 47, was walking alone in sandals along a bleak sidewalk along a high fence. Her long pink skirt stood out in a strange way.

On an afternoon in mid-September, Ms. Anri arrived at Kosuge Station (Adachi Ward, Tokyo) on the Tobu Isesaki Line and was hurrying. He must have been used to this route. He walked for less than ten minutes without looking aside, and then entered the building. It was the visiting room of the Tokyo Detention Center.

“Her husband, former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai, 58, is detained there. Katsuyuki was arrested for violating the Public Offices Election Law (bribery, etc.) by giving about 28.7 million yen to a total of 100 people, and was sentenced to three years in prison by the Tokyo District Court in June this year. In June this year, he was sentenced to three years in prison by the Tokyo District Court. He resigned from the Diet and declared that he would not participate in elections in the future. Katsuyuki’s side immediately appealed the case. However, I have heard that almost no fellow lawmakers or local businesses are supporting the case,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs department.

The Kawai couple was once reported to be divorcing. In February this year, Mr. Kairi was found guilty of violating the Public Offices Election Law and sentenced to one year and four months in prison, suspended for five years. At that time, the Tokyo District Court read out the sentence in the past tense, saying, “(Katsuyuki) was the spouse of the defendant,” which led to speculation about the marital relationship.

It is true that there was no ring on the ring finger of Mr. Anri’s left hand when I saw him in Kosuge. However, there is no other reason for him to visit the jail than to meet with Katsuyuki.

This magazine also saw her leaving the Tokyo Detention Center in early September. That day, she was wearing stiletto heels and carrying a light blue FENDI bag. She looked like she was on a date.

“I thought she had gone back to her parents’ house in Miyazaki Prefecture, but it seems she has stayed in Tokyo and is visiting Katsuyuki regularly.

I approached Mr. Akari as he left the visiting room.

— “Is this a meeting with Mr. Katsuyuki?

“…………”

Mr. Anri did not respond to any questions with a slight smile on his face. Only when I asked him about his divorce did his expression turn blank.

Koichi Kakutani, a political journalist, pointed out that, “In the LDP presidential election, there was a lot of talk about divorce.

Koichi Kakutani, a political journalist, points out, “In the LDP presidential race, all the candidates are reluctant to get to the bottom of the Kawai couple’s bribery case. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga have offered little explanation. But unless the circumstances and use of the 150 million yen provided by the party headquarters before the Lower House election are clarified, the trust of the voters will not be restored.

The last thing that Kawai and his wife can do for the people now that they are no longer members of the Diet is to bring everything to light.

From “FRIDAY” October 1, 2021 issue