Moriya says he burned all of his records

Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya confessed to burning diaries and other personal records when he left the Defense Ministry in August in an interview before he was arrested for allegedly taking bribes from a defense equipment trader.

Moriya was known for his habit of taking detailed notes on whom he met with and what they discussed, being dubbed a "memo nerd." If he did burn the records, this will only further fuel suspicions that he was bribed by arrested defense equipment trader Motonobu Miyazaki.

"I burned all records, including my diaries when I left the ministry," Moriya said in an interview on Nov. 23.

Sources said prosecutors are highly interested in the fate of Moriya's personal records as they believe the notes could help substantiate the bribes he allegedly took over the procurement of Self-Defense Forces equipment and could also lead to a corruption case involving politicians.

Moriya, 63, claimed he burned the records in anger amid a clash in August with then Defense Minister Yuriko Koike, who wanted him retired and replaced.

"Ms. Koike leaked her appointment plan to newspaper reporters before notifying me . . . and told me 'You must quit.' As she pressed me to accept her will, I felt, 'Give me a break' and burned everything at that time," Moriya said.

Moriya said the burned diaries included records on a controversial dinner with Miyazaki and allegedly with Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga among others at a Tokyo restaurant last Dec. 4.

"I burned it as I was displeased" with Koike, said Moriya, who stepped down as vice defense minister Aug. 31.

Moriya said in sworn testimony in the Diet Nov. 15 that Nukaga was present at the dinner party. Miyazaki, 69, is a former executive at defense equipment trader Yamada Corp. and the founder of rival trader Nihon Mirise Corp.

But Nukaga has flatly denied attending the dinner, prompting an opposition-dominated House of Councilors committee to decide to summon Nukaga, a former Defense Agency chief, for sworn testimony over suspected collusion with Miyazaki.

Prosecutors arrested Moriya along with his wife, Sachiko, 56, on Wednesday on suspicion of taking bribes worth ¥3.89 million in the form of golf outings and other perks in return for favoring Yamada and Nihon Mirise over defense equipment procurements when he was still the top defense bureaucrat.

Sachiko Moriya has meanwhile changed her stance from her initial denial of the allegations and now admits to having taken bribes from Miyazaki, in the form of being treated to golf outings, and told investigators she regrets her actions, the sources said.

Miyazaki has reportedly admitted treating Moriya in return for favors, although Moriya has denied being bribed. His wife claimed at the time of her arrest that she believed going on Miyazaki-funded golf outings didn't constitute bribery as he was a friend, the sources said.

On Friday, prosecutors also raided the office of Yamada as well as the home of Yamada's founder in Yokohama.

The prosecutors indicted Miyazaki on charges of embezzlement involving Yamada's U.S. subsidiary, Yamada International Corp., and served a fresh arrest warrant on him for allegedly giving the bribes to the Moriyas.