Bribed official wins leniency bid

OSAKA (Kyodo) A former land ministry official was handed a suspended two-year prison term Thursday by the Osaka District Court for receiving a bribe over bid-rigging in public works projects linked to a national park in the village of Asuka, Nara Prefecture. The court concluded Masahiko Takamatsu, 43, a former senior official at the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, accepted ¥1 million in bribes from a construction firm in return for leaking the target prices for public tender bids on two construction works at the park in 2004 and 2005. Presiding Judge Hidenori Nagai criticized the act as "badly compromising public trust in civil servants." "The defendant committed the crime in response to his senior official in order to protect his own interest within the ministry," Nagai said. "His criminal... [read full story]