Ex-Japan defence man arrested on bribery charges

Tokyo: A former top Japanese defence bureaucrat and his wife were arrested on Wednesday over allegations he was wined and dined by companies — including one linked to General Electric — in exchange for contracts, news reports said.

Former Vice Defence Minister Takemasa Moriya was arrested after a questioning session in the scandal, which has also been linked to Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga, further weakening the two-month old government of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News agency reported. Investigators also raided Moriya’s home to search for more evidence in the bribery allegations, reports said.

Moriya faces allegations he gave favourable treatment in granting contracts to two defence trading companies led by Motonobu Miyazaki, who was arrested earlier this month, along with his two top aides.

Moriya, who retired in August, has acknowledged he was frequently treated to free golf trips with his wife Sachiko, expensive dinners and other gifts by Miyazaki, a former executive of Yamada Yoko Corp, over the past decade, but argued that the gifts were not bribery.

Known as “the emperor of the defence agency”, Moriya served the ministry’s No 2 post for four years until his retirement in August this year.

Miyazaki, who later left Yamada Yoko and founded his own company Nihon Mirise Corp, also reportedly gave Moriya 200,000 yen (Rs 73,400) in cash as a birthday gift.

In one case Moriya allegedly influenced the ministry’s 2004-2005 purchase of five of Fairfield, Connecticut-based General Electric Co’s C-X engines for next generation Japanese cargo aircraft, media reports said.

The deal was handled — without bids — by Yamada Yoko, which was a Japanese agent for the 600 million yen (Rs 21.9 crore) GE engine at the time, a Defence Ministry spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity because of protocol.

A planned purchase of a sixth C-X engine through Mirise, which became the sole Japanese agent for the engine a month before Moriya’s retirement, is stalled. GE cancelled its contract with Mirise following the scandal, the Defence Ministry spokeswoman said.

General Electric’s Japan office said the company official authorised to speak on the issue could not comment
immediately.

Source: mumbaimirror.com