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Japan Highway Public Corporation vice president arrested over bid-rigging

Michio Uchida, vice president of Japan Highway Public Corp. (JHPC), was arrested on July 25 by the Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office special investigation unit for allegedly assisting in rigging bids for bridge construction projects ordered by the JHPC as well as for breach of trust.

Uchida's alleged involvement in arranging retiring JHPC officials' executive posts in construction companies was revealed on July 18 by Akahata.

According to investigators, Uchida helped distribute JHPC's construction contract awards at the request of constructors' bid-rigging groups managed by former JHPC officials who had held executive posts in private construction firms.

This latest arrest shows how deep the bid-rigging scandal really goes. But it may only be the tip of the iceberg in that this kind of bid-rigging involving companies and bureaucrats is not limited to bridges construction. -- Akahata, July 2005