NAGASAKI (Kyodo) Three former food-processing company executives were handed suspended prison terms Wednesday of falsely labeling vegetables grown in China and passing them off as domestically produced, mainly for sale to school food services.
The Nagasaki District Court sentenced Toshihachi Abe, 68, former president of Cassey Co., to two years in prison, suspended for three years, for violating the unfair competition prevention law.
The court handed the same sentence to Tsuneo Takayama, 59, former managing director of the now-defunct company, and Chimatoshi Yamamoto, 44, former chief of Cassey's Nagasaki plant.
Prosecutors had sought two years in prison for all three defendants.
The three conspired to put about 2 tons of Chinese-grown cauliflower and green asparagus into cartons labeled "domestically produced" at the firm's plant in Minamishimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture, between last July and September, the court said.