Six men accused of abducting and confining the president of the Mainichi Shimbun in January pleaded guilty Friday during their first trial session before the Tokyo District Court.
The six said they had hoped their actions would lead Mainichi President Akira Saito to resign, paving the way for the return of a former executive director who had helped someone to whom they had felt indebted.
The accused are Yukihiro Fujita, 66, president of a Nagoya-based coffee beans dealer; Akihisa Nambu, 56, the firm's executive; Ryusuke Mizuno, 44, its sales director; two of the firm's employees Toru Teshigawara, 35, and Tadashi Fujita, 31; and Tsugio Sahashi, 56, an acquaintance of the elder Fujita.
The six stand accused of abducting Saito, 70, near his Tokyo home at on Jan. 31.
After forcing him into a car, they drove to a parking lot and ordered Saito to strip. They then bound his hands and feet and took photos of him and Fujita's nephew, Tadashi, both naked, so it looked like they were engaged in homosexual acts.
Saito was released about two hours later, having been warned that the photos would be distributed publicly if he did not step down.
According to prosecutors, Fujii believed Saito's resignation would help a former Mainichi executive director return to power. This man had helped the grandson of a former president of Kokusai Kanko Hotel Nagoya Castle Co. become a part-time member of the hotel's board. Mainichi is the largest shareholder of the hotel, which was renamed The Westin Nagoya Castle in 2000.
Prosecutors said Fujita felt a debt of gratitude to the hotel's ex-president, who had given him business since 1975. The business ties with the hotel continued even after the president's son assumed the presidency, but ceased when the son was dismissed in 1998.