The Yomiuri Shimbun
This is the final installment of a three-part series investigating how Naoki Akiyama--an executive director of the Japan-U.S. Center for Peace and Cultural Exchange currently under arrest on suspicion of evading taxes on funds provided by defense-related companies--became a powerful go-between for political, bureaucratic and business circles in Japanese and U.S. defense fields:
Naoki Akiyama often ordered his subordinates to ask companies to buy tickets for fund-raising parties hosted by Diet members that had interests in defense affairs.
In an office near a dormitory building for Diet members in the nation's political nerve center of Nagatacho, central Tokyo, the executive director of the Japan-U.S. Center for Peace and Cultural Exchange would consult a list of defense contractors and tell his workers how many tickets each company should buy.
A former employee of the center said, "Bundles of party tickets were frequently sent from lawmakers' offices, and we sent them to such companies." The center became akin to a fund-raising agent for lawmakers with interests in defense affairs.
Motonobu Miyazaki, 70, a former senior managing director of Yamada Corp., a trading firm specializing in defense equipment, also gave similar testimony when summoned as a sworn witness to the House of Councillors Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense on May 22.
"I've been asked by Akiyama to buy tickets for a party hosted by [former Defense Minister Fumio] Kyuma," he said at the time.
Akiyama, 58, also approached defense bureaucrats. He was freely able to enter the head office of the Defense Agency, today's Defense Ministry, and place invitation cards on division chiefs' desks, asking them to encourage their workers to attend the events.
The gatherings were informal meetings for senior officials of the agency and the Self-Defense Forces, as well as lawmakers with interests in defense affairs. Akiyama started organizing such meetings around 1995.
These gatherings, held under the name of Hinoki-kai, were held in central Tokyo hotels, among other locations.
A senior Defense Ministry official said, "Because Mr. Akiyama was backed by the Diet members, I couldn't turn down the invitation."
About the same time, defense bureaucrats had started relying on Akiyama.
Each May, Akiyama took lawmakers with interests in defense affairs on U.S. tours. Junior fast-track officials from the Defense Ministry joined the tours and produced two reports on the trips.
One of the two reports comprised memos of official remarks made during the tours. The other was a collection of information collected directly from the lawmakers relating to conversations with their U.S. counterparts and defense contractor executives.
"During unofficial talks, the U.S. side asked to purchase specific defense equipment in a surprisingly explicit manner. This was precious information in terms of predicting future defense policies," a senior ministry official said.
On July 25, the day following Akiyama's arrest by the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba admitted that Akiyama had played such roles.
Ishiba had frequently participated in the U.S. tours while serving as the director of the center. At a press conference following a Cabinet meeting held on the day, he said, "The tours were opportunities for me to reconfirm the U.S. side's intentions."
But Ishiba added: "There was no system for conveying U.S. intentions to [Japanese] lawmakers. From now on, it's important that such information be conveyed through proper channels."
As to how Akiyama was able to attain such powerful influence, Shinichi Kiyotani, a military affairs journalist, said: "In Western countries, defense authorities gather information independently and aren't shy of using money and manpower for the purpose."
"But in Japan, the government's defense-related entities have fewer information channels, and thus defense officials tend to rely on people who appear to have such information," he added.
Masashi Nishihara, a former president of the National Defense Academy, said, "It's vital that a system be established by the Defense Ministry or neutral private entities, and not by individuals to allow information to be exchanged."
Vested interests were rife among defense interests in political, bureaucratic and business circles in Japan and the United States. Akiyama was able to build up his considerable influence by skillfully bridging between the different camps.
"Even if Akiyama leaves the stage, if the situation remains unchanged someone else--a second Akiyama--will doubtless emerge," a senior Defense Ministry official warned.
(Jul. 31, 2008)
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