Police on Tuesday arrested Takefuji Corp. Chairman Yasuo Takei for allegedly ordering employees to bug the phone of a journalist who had criticized the consumer loan giant.
Investigative sources said Takei, 73, was arrested on suspicion of violating the Telecommunications Business Law by wiretapping the phone of freelance journalist Shunsuke Yamaoka, 44, between December 2000 and February 2001.
Former Takefuji employee Kazuhiro Nakagawa, 42, told a court in June that he handled the wiretapping under orders from Takei. Nakagawa received a suspended prison sentence for attempting to blackmail his former firm.