Tokyo, 04 August, /AJMEDIA/
Japanese ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Masatoshi Akimoto resigned as parliamentary vice foreign minister Friday amid allegations he received bribes amounting to tens of millions of yen from a wind power company, sources close to the matter said.
Earlier in the day, Tokyo prosecutors searched his offices and his home, suspecting that Akimoto, a prominent LDP advocate of renewable energy, received bribes from the company, Japan Wind Development Co., according to the sources.
They have also questioned the president of the company, Japan Wind Development Co., on a voluntary basis regarding the alleged payments to Akimoto, a prominent LDP advocate of renewable energy who is currently serving as a parliamentary vice foreign minister, sources close to the matter said.
The lawyer for the company’s president denied the allegations, telling reporters separately on Friday that the money was for a racehorse cooperative and “was not provided to Mr. Akimoto.”
“A lump sum was given at a certain period of time last year,” the lawyer said, noting it was used to purchase horses and that the president and Akimoto are “acquainted through racehorse breeding.”
Japan Wind Development said in a statement, “There is no proof whatsoever that our company paid bribes to a lawmaker or to any public servants. There is objective evidence to prove this point.”
Akimoto, a fourth-term House of Representatives member, did not respond to questions from reporters at Haneda airport in Tokyo on Thursday when he returned from an overseas trip.
His offices in Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture were raided Friday morning.
For around a year through October 2018, Akimoto served as parliamentary vice minister at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
During his stint, he pushed for legislation setting uniform rules for the use of the sea by renewable energy operators, in a bid to promote offshore wind power. The legislation was enacted in November 2018.
In June that year, he told a lower house committee on land, infrastructure, transport and tourism that “operators’ expectations for the legislation are high.”
Based on the legislation, the government designated three marine zones in Akita and Chiba prefectures for electricity generation for up to 30 years. The first round of bidding for development rights, held in December 2021, was won by a consortium led by major trading house Mitsubishi Corp.
Japan Wind Development sought to join that development project, the sources said.
Established in 1999, Japan Wind Development has developed 293 turbines within and outside Japan with a combined output of over 570 megawatts, according to its website.