The Tokyo High Court said Thursday it will release Michio Uchida, a former vice president of Japan Highway Public Corp. suspected of being involved in bid-rigging, on bail of 15 million yen.
According to the indictment, the 61-year-old Uchida conspired with a former Japan Highway director and others to rig bids for steel bridge construction projects contracted by the public corporation in fiscal 2003 and fiscal 2004 in violation of the Antimonopoly Law.
He also allegedly inflicted financial damage on the public corporation by ordering projects that were to be contracted to one company to be split up so that several firms could take part at the behest of the bridge builders.
Uchida was arrested July 25 and indicted Aug. 15.