Nine officials of seven leading oil wholesalers were arrested Tuesday for allegedly rigging bids on fuel contracts with the Defense Agency, according to prosecution sources.
Among those arrested was Yuki Yamamoto, a 53-year-old executive of Cosmo Oil Co. who allegedly served as a go- between for the agency and industry.
The other officials arrested were Takanori Uchiyama and Kenichi Haruta of Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Corp., Keizo Murakoso of Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K., Takamasa Morita of Japan Energy Corp., Takeshi Hiraoka of Idemitsu Kosan Co., Takayuki Nomoto and Nobuyuki Fujii of General Sekiyu K.K. and Hachiyoshi Watanabe of Kygnus Sekiyu K.K.