More than a year after journalist Shunsuke Yamaoka first accused Takefuji Corp. of tapping his home phone, police have finally reached the top echelons of the country's leading consumer loan firm.
Takefuji Chairman Yasuo Takei was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of ordering employees at the firm to wiretap a phone at Yamaoka's Tokyo home from December 2000 to February 2001.
Yamaoka and other freelance writers have since played leading roles in uncovering the wiretapping scam and other alleged shady activities involving the firm.