Overview

• A joint task force of the Metropolitan Police and seven prefectural forces arrested Delpara CEO Yamamoto Masanori (also known as Lee Chang-beom) and five executives on suspicion of promising cash for votes for industry figure Abe Yasuhisa in July’s Upper House election.
• Police believe instructions to vote were issued across all 31 outlets in one metro and seven prefectures, with online meetings to direct store managers and requests that employees photograph ballots to report back, while no actual payouts have been confirmed.
• Investigators estimate about 280 people, including employees who allegedly complied, could face action under the Public Offices Election Law, a scale reported as unusually large for recent national elections.
• In a separate case, Tokyo prosecutors’ special investigations unit searched sites linked to Japan Innovation Party Upper House member Akira Ishii over suspected fraud involving public secretary salaries, drawing party statements that they will act if the allegations are substantiated.
• Supporters expressed dismay as searches hit Ishii’s offices, and Aichi prefectural police separately arrested two men under Japan’s extraterritorial child‑pornography law for alleged offenses in Laos and Myanmar.