A total of 106 former senior defense officials landed private-sector jobs in 2005, all within two years after retiring, according to an annual Defense Agency tally released Tuesday.

Forty-two got posts in the top 20 companies with Defense Agency contracts through a practice known as "amakudari."

All 106 retired from senior positions in the Self-Defense Forces, Defense Agency or Defense Facilities Administration Agency and received the private-sector with the defense chief's approval.

The figure is up 18 from the year before.

About 746 other officials, up 34 from 2004, received after-retirement jobs in private companies with approval from the chiefs of staff of the three branches of the SDF, the agency said.

The agency said it "mediated" the offers between the firms and the 106 former senior officials, and that it is "natural" many ended up in companies with track records with the agency so they can use their expertise in their new jobs.

Amakudari has long come under public fire because many say the links can be a hotbed of corruption.

Staff at the Defense Facilities Administration Agency may have to wait five years after retiring before seeking jobs in construction-related firms they used to oversee.