Former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai and his lawmaker wife Anri Kawai on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to charges of vote buying during the latter's campaign to be elected to Japan's upper house last summer.Katsuyuki Kawai, a House of Representatives member known for having close ties to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, admitted at his first hearing at the Tokyo District Court to distributing money to people, but said, "It was not meant to ask them to vote or gather votes."He has been indicted on charges of violating the election law by handing out cash to politicians and supporters in Hiroshima …READ FULL ARTICLE