TOKYO (AP) - Four ex-employees of a Japanese company admitted illegally exporting measuring devices that can be converted for use in producing nuclear weapons, a company spokesman said Monday.
Former Mitutoyo Corp. President Kazusaku Tezuka and three other men admitted the prosecutors' charges against them on the opening day of their trial, Mitutoyo spokesman Kazutoshi Sato said. Mitutoyo issued a statement last month admitting the company broke export and foreign exchange laws in the case, which involves the alleged export of three-dimensional measuring devices without proper government authorization.
The company, which is also a defendant in the trial, said it would not contest the charges and pledged to cooperate fully with the investigation. ``We deeply regret the inconvenience and problems this matter has caused,'' Sato said. ``We are continuing our restructuring efforts to prevent it from happening again.''
Prosecutors suspect the company of exporting two of the devices illegally to its subsidiary in Malaysia via Singapore in 2001. The devices measure cylinders with great precision and can be used on centrifuges employed in uranium enrichment, a process that can produce civilian nuclear fuel or fissile material for a nuclear weapon, government officials say.
Malaysia being part of the Khan conspiracy.
Though Malaysia is not on Japan's export blacklist, Japanese laws still require companies to get government authorization for sensitive exports valued at over $8,500 regardless of the country. |