Tokyo prosecutors on Thursday charged Takefuji Corp. with violating the Telecommunications Business Law by wiretapping a freelance journalist.
Takefuji founder Yasuo Takei has already been indicted on the same count. Takei, who confessed to the misdeed, resigned as chairman of the leading consumer loan firm following his arrest earlier this month.
Despite the indictment against the company itself, Takefuji continued to insist that the firm was not involved in the wiretapping.
During a hastily arranged news conference, Takefuji President Akira Kiyokawa said the wiretapping was carried out by Takei's lieutenant upon the chairman's order.
"No one else in the company was involved," he claimed.
Yet Kiyokawa refused to elaborate further, except to say the company could not provide details given the indictment against it, and he repeated its pledge to clean up the firm's act.