Photo/Illutration Lower House member Masatoshi Akimoto resigned from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Aug. 5. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The president of an energy entity embroiled in bribery allegations that crippled the political career of a ruling party lawmaker now admits to paying bribes in exchange for favorable questioning in the Diet regarding offshore wind farm projects.

The lawyer for 64-year-old Masayuki Tsukawaki, president of Japan Wind Development Co., met with reporters on Aug. 11 to divulge the latest development in the case.

Previously, the lawyer stated that 30 million yen ($207,000) or so that Tsukawaki gave to Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Masatoshi Akimoto over a number of years was intended to help fund a thoroughbred owners group the two men had set up in autumn 2021.

Akimoto, 48, resigned as a parliamentary secretary in the Foreign Ministry on Aug. 4, the same day that Tokyo prosecutors searched his offices in the Lower House members’ building as well as his local constituency.

The following day, the party announced it had accepted Akimoto’s request to leave the LDP.

On Aug. 5, prosecutors also searched the offices of Japan Wind Development as well as Tsukawaki’s residence.

Tsukawaki’s lawyer explained that his client’s change of heart stemmed from concerns about the impact the investigation was having on the company’s management now that it had expanded to business partners.

The claim that the 30 million yen was used to purchase thoroughbreds never washed with prosecutors. They kept their sights firmly locked on a connection between the payments and questions in the Diet by Akimoto, who repeatedly mentioned government standards related to offshore wind farm projects.

On one such occasion in February 2022, Akimoto referred to a project that went to a concern led by a major trading company that had placed an overwhelmingly low bid to win the contract. Japan Wind Development placed a losing bid on that project.

This prompted Akimoto to ask that not only price, but also the speed with which a project could be pushed forward also be taken into consideration when deciding which companies win bids in the future.

On Oct. 27, 2022, changes were made to bid assessment standards to emphasize the quickness with which a planned project could proceed.

The following day, a Japan Wind Development employee, on instructions from Tsukawaki, went to Akimoto’s office in the Lower House members’ building with 10 million yen in cash, according to sources.

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