Japanese lawmaker charged with drug trafficking in China

A Japanese lawmaker, who has been charged with drug trafficking by a court in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, appeared in court this morning on the first day of his trial. Takuma Sakuragi, who is 71 years old, is a member of the Inazawa municipal assembly in Aichi Prefecture.

The Japanese Senator Takuma Sakuragi is now standing trial in the Guangzhou Intermediate Court. The trial started at half past 9 this morning. The 71-year-old was a member of the Inazawa municipal assembly in Aichi prefecture.‍

He is facing a drug smuggling charge. He was detained by police, after more than 3 kilograms of methamphetamine was found in his luggage during a baggage check at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport last October.

More than 60 people including the senator's wife, officers from Japan's consulate general in Guangzhou, deputies of the National Peoples' Congress and ordinary citizens are observing the trial.

Present here are also 40 domestic and international media outlets, about half of which are Japanese reporters.

No camera is allowed inside the court, but we do have a chance to hear the prosecution and defence process. The senator has hired a famous lawyer in Guangzhou, named Chen Weixiong, who can speak both Japanese and Chinese, and has rich experience in foreign affairs and Chinese laws.

Mr. Sakuragi said he was on his way home via Shanghai, and had planned to take a flight to Shanghai from Guangzhou. He denied he was trafficking drugs, saying the luggage belongs to two friends from Mali and Guinea, and he was asked to take it for them. The two friends in question have also been arrested. ‍

Under Chinese criminal law, anyone found to be trafficking 50 grams or more of heroin or methamphetamine can potentially be given the death penalty, and this applies to both Chinese citizens and foreigners.

The trial will last into tomorrow.