Photo/Illutration Masatoshi Akimoto responds to a question in the Diet. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Prosecutors on Aug. 4 searched the offices of Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Masatoshi Akimoto in a bribery investigation involving a wind farm operator.

Akimoto, 47, is suspected of taking cash to raise questions in the Diet about the development of offshore wind power, notably relating to a bid by developer Japan Wind Development Co. to build a wind farm off the coast of Aomori Prefecture.

The company said there is no cause for suspicion.

“There has been no case of bribing lawmakers or civil servants, and there are several documents that provide objective evidence of this,” Japan Wind Development said in a statement.

Investigators from the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s special investigative unit searched Akimoto’s offices in the Lower House as well as in his home district in Chiba Prefecture.

The investigation centers on a sum of about 30 million yen ($210,000) that sources say Akimoto received from Japan Wind Development, in installments beginning in 2021.

A law that took effect in April 2019 was designed to promote offshore wind farms.

Under the law, the economy and infrastructure ministries can designate locations as suitable sites for wind farms. Companies that win an open bidding process can use the sites for up to 30 years.

Japan Wind Development was one such company. It was bidding for a location in Mutsu Bay off the coast of Aomori Prefecture.

Akimoto raised the Aomori sea area during Diet questioning. He asked that excessive restrictions not be placed on power generation facilities. The rationale, he said, was to limit the effects on defense-related facilities in the area.

Akimoto also asked for a review of the standards used when selecting the project operator.

Separately, Akimoto appears not to have declared the alleged payments. Between 2017 and 2021, the political fund reports submitted by political organizations linked to Akimoto showed no entries for donations from Japan Wind Development or from its executives.

On Aug. 4, Akimoto resigned as a parliamentary secretary in the Foreign Ministry, a post he held since August 2022. He entered the Diet after the December 2012 election, when he won his seat in the Chiba No. 9 district. He is currently serving his fourth term.

Since becoming a lawmaker, Akimoto has been a proponent of moving away from nuclear power. He now serves as secretary-general of a group of LDP lawmakers who favor renewable energy.

Japan Wind Development, which was established in 1999, operates a number of land-based wind farms in Japan and overseas. It has expressed interest in expanding into offshore wind farms.

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