Prosecutors Tuesday arrested a former board member of Japan Highway Public Corp. and four officials of major bridge builders for alleged bid-rigging on projects ordered by the government-affiliated body.
Arrested were Sozo Kanda, 70, a Japan Highway retiree who served as an adviser to Yokogawa Bridge Corp.; Takashi Yokoyama, 59, also from Yokogawa Bridge; Takashi Tanaka, 54, from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.; Masami Seimiya, 49, from Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co.; and Kenichi Shimizu, 58, of Kawada Industries Inc.
In the widening bid-rigging scandal involving bridge builders that have been repeatedly warned over anticompetitive practices, 26 firms and eight corporate executives have already been indicted on charges of violating the Antimonopoly Law.