Ex-defence aide held by Japan's prosecutors

By David Pilling in Tokyo

Published: November 29 2007 02:00

Japanese prosecutors yesterday arrested a former top defence official as part of a widening investigation into alleged collusion between defence contractors and the ministry.

The investigation, reminiscent of the inquiry into the Lockheed scandal in the mid-1970s that destroyed the reputation of Kakuei Tanaka, the former prime minister, came to a head yesterday when Takemasa Moriya, vice-minister of defence until August, was shown on television being driven away by prosecutors.

In parliamentary testimony in October, Mr Moriya had admitted to being treated to hundreds of rounds of golf by Motonobu Miyazaki, a former executive with a trading house specialising in defence, in breach of his ministry's entertainment guidelines. But he denied that he had extended preferential treatment to Yamada, the company for which Mr Miyazaki worked.

Mr Miyazaki was arrested this month for alleged embezzlement of more than $1m (€680,000, £480,000).

Allegations of corruption have cast a shadow over the defence ministry, which was upgraded from an agency only last year.

Yasuo Fukuda, the prime minister, said yesterday the ministry would have to "work hard to regain public trust" as the scandal threatened to scale the reaches of the ruling party.

Japan's upper house - controlled by the opposition Democratic party - has moved to summon Fukushiro Nukaga, currently the finance minister but previously director of the defence agency, to answer questions next Monday regarding the alleged collusion with -contractors.

Commenting on Mr Moriya's arrest, Nobutaka Machimura, the chief cabinet secretary, said: "It is quite regrettable as it has damaged public trust of the defence administration."

The investigation into Mr Moriya has centred on contracts to supply engines for the Japanese air force's next-generation of transport aircraft. The defence ministry is well known for paying inflated prices for equipment, although that is partly because Tokyo insists that a high proportion is manufactured in Japan.

The inquiry has further emboldened the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which in October stymied a bill to extend the six-year mission to the Indian Ocean, Japan's contribution to anti-terrorism operations around Afghanistan

The opposition has also threatened to veto a new bill, submitted to the upper house yesterday, aimed at restarting operations under a more limited mandate. Its objections have brought the administration of Mr Fukuda to a standstill, leading some political analysts to speculate that the new prime minister will be forced to dissolve parliament in search of a clear mandate.

In an interview with the Financial Times this month, Mr Fukuda hinted that he would delay an election as long as -possible.