Lower House member Muneo Suzuki, indicted in a bribery scandal involving a lumber company, also accepted at least 1 million yen in unreported money from a construction firm in Hokkaido in the late 1990s as reward for favors in a public works project, informed sources said Saturday.

Prosecutors suspect that Suzuki, 54, may have abused his authority as then chief of the Hokkaido Development Agency to favor Shimada Kensetsu, based in Abashiri in northeastern Hokkaido, in projects ordered by the regional development bureau, the sources said.

Special investigators from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office plan to examine the allegation further to determine whether they can establish another bribery case against the lawmaker, they said.

According to the sources, Shimada Kensetsu was one of the major supporters of Suzuki, formerly a powerful member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The president of the construction firm traveled to Tokyo several times between September 1997 and July 1998, when Suzuki served as chief of the Hokkaido and Okinawa development agencies, the sources said.

Prosecutors suspect that on these occasions, the Shimada Kensetsu president delivered around 1 million yen in cash to the lawmaker, asking for help to secure contracts for public works ordered by the Hokkaido Development Bureau in return.

During that period, Shimada Kensetsu, through joint ventures with other companies, earned contracts for more than 10 construction projects ordered by the development bureau.

Shimada Kensetsu allegedly donated around 5 million yen to Suzuki, including the 1 million yen in question, but none of the money was reported as donations to Suzuki's political funds management organization, the sources said.

The alleged flow of unreported funds from Shimada Kensetsu to Suzuki came to light when investigators searched the offices of the construction firm as part of an investigation into a separate case against Akira Miyano, 54, a senior secretary to Suzuki who is now being tried for his role in a bid-rigging case, the sources said.

Prosecutors plan to question officials of Shimada Kensetsu to determine whether the money to Suzuki was intended as bribery for favors in Hokkaido construction projects, the sources said. The company is not expected to be held criminally liable as the three-year statute of limitations on the suspected bribery has already expired.

Suzuki was indicted earlier this month on charges of accepting 5 million yen in bribes from Hokkaido lumber company Yamarin in return for securing favorable government contracts in 1998, when he was deputy chief Cabinet secretary.

Kato aid to admit guilt

A former aide to Koichi Kato, who resigned from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in April, intends to plead guilty to evading income taxes at his first trial hearing, scheduled for Monday, sources close to the defendant said Saturday.

Saburo Sato, 61, has been indicted on a charge of failing to declare 170 million yen in income tax, which prosecutors say he obtained as kickbacks and rewards for helping contractors secure public works projects.

The sources said Sato has already revised his income statements and is ready to agree in principle to the use of evidence that prosecutors are preparing for the trial at the Tokyo District Court.

Sato's anticipated move is likely to accelerate the conclusion of a high-profile tax evasion case that precipitated the resignation of Kato, who once served as the LDP's secretary general and was once considered a leading candidate for prime minister.

Sato denied the charge of tax evasion until the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrested him on March 8.

According to the indictment, Sato concealed about 265 million yen in taxable income for three years through 2000, most of which he collected as kickbacks and rewards from builders and other firms and as capital to set up a firm. In doing so, he evaded about 98 million yen in income tax, it said.

The indictment said Sato also evaded about 74 million yen in tax after failing to declare as income 150 million yen he is alleged to have received from talent agency Rising Production Co. in June 1997. The agency has since renamed itself Freegate Promotion Co.

Although the agency provided Sato with the money so he would help head off a police investigation into an agency official's frequent visits to a Tokyo casino bar, no evidence suggests that Sato acted on its behalf, according to the document.

Kato resigned from the House of Representatives in April to take the blame for allegations of tax evasion involving Sato and his diversion of political funds for private purposes.

Prosecutors later decided to let Kato off the hook because they were unable to find sufficient evidence to show that he harbored criminal intent to evade taxes.

Kato has revised his income statements to pay about 80 million yen in additional tax.