Japanese lawmaker goes on trial for meth trafficking

Japanese politician Sakuragi Takuma, who is accused of drug trafficking, insisted he had no knowledge of hidden drugs in his suitcase on Thursday while awaiting a verdict, after his court hearing was concluded on Thursday.

Takuma, 71, a member of the Inazawa municipal assembly in Aichi Prefecture, stood on trial with two other African suspects at the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday.

Takuma denied all knowledge of possessing over 3 kilograms of methamphetamine, hidden in his suitcase. He said that he was asked by another suspect at large, named Hassan, to pass the suitcase to Hassan's wife in Japan, and that he was told that the contents were female platform shoes.

The prosecutors presented several debt-collecting documents provided by a liaison appointed by Hassan in Takuma's suitcase, saying that they may imply his awareness of the hidden drugs.

It aroused strong objections from Takuma, as the files only show the purpose of his coming to China, according to Takuma's lawyer.

Song Fuxin, one of Takuma's two lawyers, told the Global Times that the prosecutors offered no direct evidence supporting Takuma's knowledge of the drugs and no testament to the benefits he reaped from drug trafficking.

It is an ordinary drug-trafficking case since many drug trials involving foreign suspects are opened in China every year, Qu Xinjiu, a professor of criminal law at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Thursday.

A Japanese suspect will not make the trial special and the only difference between foreigners and Chinese tried for drug trafficking may lie in the level of court, he explained.

"While Chinese nationals are often tried locally in county-level courts, foreigners are usually tried in intermediate courts in cities that are more prudent," Qu added.

A Japanese man in his 50s was executed for drug smuggling in Dalian, Liaoning Province on July 25, The Japan Times reported.