Friday, May 23, 2008Kyodo News
Accused briber tells Diet trader's money was linked to chemical arms cleanup off Fukuoka
The key codefendant in the bribery trial of former Defense Vice Minister Takemasa Moriya said Thursday his company paid about ¥100 million to a Foreign Ministry-linked organization over a state project to dispose of wartime chemical weapons abandoned by the military.
Motonobu Miyazaki, 69, former managing director of defense equipment trader Yamada Corp., gave the sworn testimony before the House of Councilors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He claimed the money was paid to deal with "local matters" pertaining to the project, without elaborating.
Miyazaki's account contradicts unsworn testimony by a senior official of the Foreign Ministry-related Japan-U.S. Center for Peace and Cultural Exchange.
On Jan. 8, Naoki Akiyama, executive director of the center, denied that his organization got ¥100 million from Yamada Corp., which was willing to join the project to dispose of chemical weapons found on the seabed off Fukuoka Prefecture. Akiyama, 58, gave the unsworn testimony to the same committee of the Upper House, which is controlled by the opposition camp.
Miyazaki, who is accused of paying bribes to Moriya, also told the committee he took part in meetings with Akiyama and former Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma.
Miyazaki meanwhile denied he had consulted with Kyuma over another government project — the relocation of a U.S. Marine Corps contingent from Okinawa to Guam.
He also admitted playing golf and dining with a number of politicians, including former Defense Minister Fukushiro Nukaga, the current finance minister, but claimed such outings were infrequent.
Members of the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc boycotted the day's session after the opposition-controlled committee allowed media organizations in to tape or take still images.
Miyazaki claimed his friendly links with Akiyama began when Yamada joined the chemical weapons-disposal project and the trading house paid about $100,000 a year as a consultancy fee to U.S.-based Add-Back International Corp., in which Akiyama serves as an adviser.
Prosecutors are continuing to investigate Akiyama on allegations that he evaded taxes for consultancy fees he received via several U.S.-based companies.
Miyazaki is the main codefendant on trial with Moriya, 63, who stands charged with taking about ¥12.5 million in bribes and committing perjury for allegedly giving false testimony in the Diet.
On April 21, both Moriya and Miyazaki pleaded guilty to the charges against them in the opening session of their Tokyo District Court trial.
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