A career bureaucrat in the education ministry was arrested Tuesday for allegedly possessing a stimulant drug and marijuana, drug regulatory authorities said.
Mitsuhiro Fukuzawa, 44, assistant director to the counselor for the elementary and secondary education bureau of the ministry, has admitted to possessing a stimulant drug for personal use, in violation of the stimulant drug control law, according to the health ministry's narcotics control unit.
Syringes were confiscated after the unit raided his home and office at the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry.
Earlier this year, a bureaucrat of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry was arrested for allegedly attempting to smuggle a stimulant drug from the United States.
A senior education ministry official said the case could again damage the reputation of the ministry, which was rattled by a corruption scandal last year, with two senior officials being arrested on graft charges involving Tokyo Medical University.