Takehiko Mori says he is confessing to his crime now that the three-year statute of limitations for the offense has expired.

Mori, now a member of a civic ombudsman group in Kochi Prefecture, worked for a Kochi-based construction company for more than two decades until a few years ago. He was in charge of the firm's bidding for public works projects, which accounted for between 50 percent and 30 percent of the company's total revenues.

His confession: Every single bid for the prefecture's projects that he participated in over the years was systematically rigged by local contractors, including his firm.