Metropolitan Police Department officer was arrested Thursday on suspicion of accepting bribes from a company president in exchange for influencing police officers investigating a case involving his firm, police sources said.
Mitsumasa Matsuda, a 58-year-old lieutenant stationed at the MPD's Chofu Police Station, western Tokyo, allegedly received 2.5 million yen in bribes from Yuji Minami, the 61-year-old head of a real estate firm in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, in March last year, the sources said.
Matsuda is suspected of taking the money from Minami after suggesting he could push officers to expedite their investigation into the suspected obstruction of a real estate auction, the sources said.
Minami was also arrested on Thursday.
The MPD is expected to dismiss Matsuda soon, according to the sources.