The Metropolitan Police Department has questioned a senior Foreign Ministry official who is suspected of having embezzled public funds, police sources said Friday.
The 55-year-old diplomat, whose identity was withheld, denied embezzling several hundred million yen, as alleged, the sources said.
The official is suspected of diverting funds between 1993 and 1998 while he was head of the ministry's office that manages overseas visits by Japanese VIPs, including the prime minister. The funds were supposed to be used to ensure that such visits went smoothly.
Police suspect he amassed hundreds of millions of yen through frequent cash transfers to his Tokyo bank account.
He bought a newly built condominium in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward in 1998 and owns several racehorses, according to news reports. The bank account once contained about 200 million yen and now has a balance of some 140 million yen, the sources said.