TOKYO, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Japanese prosecutors are expected to decide against indicting former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka for fraud.
The Japan Times said Wednesday Tanaka, 59, resigned from the House of Representatives in August amid allegations that she misappropriated her secretary's state-paid salary.
According to the criminal complaint leveled against her, Tanaka misappropriated 5.89 million yen (US$49,000) in salary payments meant for her secretary in 1997.
Prosecutors decided, however, it would be extremely difficult to indict Tanaka on fraud charges, since the secretary in question was actually working and Tanaka was not simply borrowing her name, the sources said.
Tanaka's case differs from that of 43-year-old Kiyomi Tsujimoto, a former Lower House member of the Social Democratic Party, who was arrested last month for allegedly misusing state-funded salary payments meant for her secretary.
In Tsujimoto's case, the secretary in question did no actual work.
