Yasuo Takei, the 73-year-old founder and former chairman of consumer credit company Takefuji Corp., was indicted Monday on charges of ordering wiretaps in violation of the Telecommunications Business Law.
The Tokyo District Court approved a request by Takei's lawyers for his detention to be suspended to allow him to undergo surgery for a liver ailment. Takei will be on temporary release starting Tuesday for about a week.
Takei allegedly ordered former Takefuji employee Kazuhiro Nakagawa, 42, who has also been arrested, to bug the telephone of freelance journalist Shunsuke Yamaoka between December 2000 and February 2001, according to the indictment.