4-year jail term sought for ex-defense official

Japan Policy & Politics, July 26, 1999

TOKYO, July 21 Kyodo

Prosecutors demanded Wednesday a four-year prison term for a former Defense Agency official charged with breach of trust for causing losses to the state and accepting bribes in connection with the agency's procurement of equipment. Prosecutors said in seeking the prison term at the Tokyo District Court that Masuo Morodomi, 60, "had greatly damaged public trust in the agency's procurement of defense equipment by causing massive losses to the state coffers." Morodomi, former head of the agency's Central Procurement Office, had pleaded guilty to charges of reducing the amounts to be refunded by defense contractors who had previously overcharged the agency for equipment. The trial of Morodomi and 12 others including former executives of electronic companies will end after final arguments by defense lawyers Wednesday, bringing to a close four months of hearings, Wednesday. Attorneys sought a suspended prison term for Morodomi, saying he neither played a leading role in the case nor did he line his own pockets. However, prosecutors said Morodomi orchestrated the illegal transactions by suppressing the objections of his subordinates. Prosecutors sought a three-year jail term for Tatsumi Nagatoshi, 63, former senior managing director of electronics giant NEC Corp., accused of breach of trust and bribery. Prison terms ranging from two years to two and a half years were demanded for five others from NEC, four from NEC-affiliated Toyo Communication Equipment Co., and two from NEC subsidiary Nico Electronics Co. Kenichi Ueno, 60, a former deputy head of the procurement office, is the only one among the 14 indicted in connection with the procurement scandal to have denied all the charges in the trial. Ueno has been indicted for receiving 3 million yen in bribes from Toyo in return for reducing the company's refund amount and other charges. According to the indictment, Morodomi conspired with others to slash the amount to be repaid by Toyo Communication and Nico in return for favors, causing a loss of about 3.54 billion yen in total. Fukushiro Nukaga resigned as Defense Agency chief in November last year to take responsibility for the agency's systematic cover-up of evidence of its involvement in the procurement scandal.