A Finance Ministry official accused of receiving bribes from the nation's Big Four brokerages and a major bank admitted Thursday that he had been entertained by them, but denied returning any favors.
Takashi Sakakibara, 38, former deputy director of the Securities Bureau's general affairs section, is suspected of taking bribes worth 3.45 million yen in the form of wining and dining from Nomura Securities Co., Daiwa Securities Co., Nikko Securities Co., the now-defunct Yamaichi Securities Co., and Sumitomo Bank. "It is true that I was entertained when I served that duty, as prosecutors said," Sakakibara said in his first trial hearing before the Tokyo District Court. "But I have never given preferential treatment to them," he claimed.
Asked whether wining and dining was related to his duties at the ministry, Sakakibara said, "I cannot deny that."