TOKYO : Trial of a Kingpin
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The former Liberal Democratic Party kingpin credited with picking three of Japan’s last four prime ministers goes on trial Thursday on tax evasion charges that could force him to pay $18.3 million in fines.
Shin Kanemaru, 78, and his former secretary, Masahisa Haibara, 49, are accused of evading taxes on a combined $19.2 million in income allegedly concealed between 1987 and 1991.
Kanemaru’s troubles, which began last August when he admitted accepting $4.1 million in illegal political donations, led to the split in the Liberal Democratic Party and ultimately to its historic defeat at the polls Sunday.
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