TOKYO, Aug 25, 2006 (AFP) - Japanese police said Friday they had arrested five executives of a major precision instrument maker on suspicion of illegally exporting devices that can be used in the construction of nuclear weapons.
| The market for that does seem rather limited right now. |
Mitutoyo Corp allegedly exported two measuring devices to Malaysia in 2001 without a license, officials at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said. One of the gauges is believed to have ended up in Libya and was found by inspectors from the UN nuclear agency after the former pariah state in 2003 renounced its program to build weapons of mass destruction.
| Ah-ha. Came back to bite them. |
The five arrested include Mitutoyo president Kazusaku Tezuka, vice chairman Norio Takatsuji and executive director Hideyo Chikugo. Police suspect that Mitutoyo also illegally exported devices to Iran through an Iranian trading company with offices in Tokyo, the Kyodo news agency quoted unnamed police sources as saying.
Mitutoyo chairman Toshihide Numata apologized at a news conference for causing the trouble. "I believe we have complied with the law," he said. "But I am regretful to see what has happened."
| "Now in accordance with our culture, if you'll just step back a little so that you don't get sprayed ..." |
The head office and plants of Mitutoyo had already been searched in February over allegations that the company exported one three-dimensional (3D) gauge each to China and Thailand without Japanese government clearance. |