Japan Press Weekly

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2012 February 29 - March 6 [OKINAWA]

Defense officials choose bidders which ex-defense officials parachute into

Companies, which retired-Defense Bureau officials are parachuting into, have won more than 90% of bids for public contracts on environmental assessments ordered by the Defense Bureau regarding the new U.S. base construction in Okinawa.

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Kasai Akira shed light on this practice at the House Budget Committee on February 28.

The Defense Bureau sent out 34 contracts for bids, which amounted to 8.6 billion yen, to do environmental impact assessments in order to construct a new U.S. base in Henoko in Okinawa’s Nago City. Five out of the 9 bid winners were companies in which retired-Defense Bureau officials are in executive positions. These 5 firms alone were awarded 93.4% of the contracts.

Before the bids were made, the credential committee examined and chose corporate bidders.

The Defense Minister, however, said to JCP Kasai, “The credential committee consists of Defense Bureau members and the Okinawa Defense Bureau director.”

Kasai said, “It’s revealing to hear that the members who examine the bidders were the contract providers. So, it was easy to have retired-Defense officials help companies win the bids and to have them complete the assessments in line with the Defense Bureau’s intended outcome.”

Kasai also revealed that 2 persons who had been found guilty in a bid-rigging case in the past have been rehired within the 5 companies.

He said, “Government collusion in the bidding process was clearly involved in the base-related contracts. The government should thoroughly investigate into the bidding procedure.”