Lower House member Muneo Suzuki was arrested Wednesday on charges of receiving 5 million yen in cash from a Hokkaido lumber company in August 1998 when he was the deputy chief Cabinet secretary. According to investigators, Mr. Suzuki is charged with accepting a bribe in return for working on Forestry Agency officials to "take care of the firm" so that it could get logging contracts for national forests.
Diet members normally enjoy immunity from arrest while the Diet is in session. But, in an unusually fast move Tuesday and Wednesday, responding to a request from Tokyo prosecutors, the government sought Diet permission to have Mr. Suzuki arrested on bribery charges, and the Lower House acted promptly to approve his arrest.
In recent months, Mr. Suzuki has been linked to other corruption scandals involving his aide and others, but there has been little evidence to support allegations of his direct involvement. For instance, he allegedly played a role in a government-funded construction project on Kunashiri Island, a part of the disputed Northern Territories. Those directly involved, including his aide, have been arrested, but no charges have been brought against Mr. Suzuki himself.