The Tokyo District Court handed two former executives of Kajima Corp. suspended prison terms Friday for bribing former Ibaraki Gov. Fujio Takeuchi to the tune of 20 million yen in 1992.
The court sentenced 78-year-old Shinji Kiyoyama, who was senior vice president of the construction company at the time, to 18 months, suspended for five years. It sentenced 76-year-old Mamoru Tanimoto, who was Kajima's senior managing director, to 18 months, suspended for four years.
Both men immediately appealed to the Tokyo High Court.
Prosecutors had demanded custodial 18-month terms for both.
The two conspired to pay 20 million yen in bribes to Takeuchi, now 86, on Dec. 22, 1992, to thank him for allowing the company to take part in bidding for prefectural public works projects, including the construction of a botanical garden greenhouse.
The money was also designed to encourage Takeuchi to give the construction firm favorable treatment with regard to bids for future public works projects.
The two had pleaded not guilty, denying they had given Takeuchi any money.
Presiding Judge Yujiro Nakatani said in handing down the ruling: "It was a vicious practice to give former Gov. Takeuchi such a sweetener to get major public works projects in the prefecture. The former governor bears the greatest share of the responsibility in the bribery case." In January last year, Kiyoyama was also convicted of giving 10 million yen in bribes to former Construction Minister Kishiro Nakamura, who was convicted of bribe-taking and is on parole.