2Ex-Head of Nippon T&T; Arrested in Stock Scandal
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TOKYO — Authorities today arrested the former chairman of Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. on suspicion of bribery in a stock-profiteering scandal that has shaken Japan’s political and business elite.
The Tokyo District Prosecutor’s Office said Hisashi Shinto, 78, was arrested with his 63-year-old secretary, Kozo Murata, on suspicion of receiving bribes in the form of bargain-price shares in a subsidiary of the Recruit Co., a conglomerate with business links to the giant telecommunications utility.
Authorities also said they searched Shinto’s home.
Shinto was known as an advocate of clean government and business until December, when he was forced to resign from the chairmanship of NTT as a result of the scandal.
Today’s arrests follow the announcement Saturday that prosecutors in the case had indicted four people on bribery charges, including the founder of the Recruit Co., another Recruit executive and two former NTT officials.
The Recruit figures were indicted on charges of offering bribes, and the former NTT officials were accused of accepting bribes.
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