Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya testified in the Diet on Monday that politicians, including an ex-Defense Agency chief, were wined and dined by a former executive of defense equipment trader Yamada Corp.
Moriya also admitted under oath that he had played golf more than 200 times with the executive, Motonobu Miyazaki, 69, over the past 12 years. Miyazaki left Yamada and founded the defense-aerospace contractor Nihon Mirise Corp., reportedly taking sales staff of the trader in tow in a bid to win military procurement contracts.
But Moriya, appearing before a special House of Representatives committee on antiterrorism affairs, denied that he performed any favors for Miyazaki because of their cozy ties.