SHIZUOKA (Kyodo) Police searched Yamaha Motor Co.'s headquarters in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, and other places Monday, looking for evidence the company illegally exported remote-controlled helicopters to China that could have military uses, investigative sources said.
The company specifically exported one of the unmanned choppers for spraying pesticides to China in December without obtaining permission from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in violation of the foreign exchange and trade law, the sources said.
The sources said the company also appears to have exported another nine of the choppers to China over a span of several years.
Meanwhile, quoting investigative sources, Jiji Press reported that Yamaha had tried to send the helicopter via Hong Kong to a Beijing-based company with deep ties to the Chinese army.
Export permission for this type of helicopter is required by law because the copter could be diverted to military use. The ministry has filed a complaint against Yamaha Motor with a joint investigation team from the Shizuoka and Fukuoka prefectural police forces.
Toyoo Otsubo, a Yamaha Motor executive, told a news conference that since 2001 the company had intended to export nine other RMAX 181 remote-controlled helicopters to China.
Otsubo said, however, his company "does not recognize that the export goes against the law."
