Kamori was found guilty of bribing lawmaker Akimoto on behalf of Chinese gambling operator 500.com.

The 77-year old conspired with two former advisers to the gambling company with the aim of convincing Akimoto, then a Japan House of Representatives member, to support 500.com’s bid for an integrated resort project in Hokkaido.

According to the presiding judge at Tokyo District Court, Kamori invited Akimoto and his family to Hokkaido in February 2018 and paid ¥760,000 ($7,211) in costs.

The defense claimed Kamori was only following instructions from the 500.com advisers and asked for the court to spare him a prison sentence.

The judge concluded that Kamori had “seriously undermined the fairness of duties and the trust of the people,” and sentenced him to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years.

Last month, the two former 500.com advisers admitted to providing ¥3m in cash to Akimoto in September 2017. The company is alleged to have provided an additional ¥4.6m worth of bribes by organising trips to Hokkaido, Shenzhen and Macau.