Ex-Japan Cancer Center Doctor Cleared in Bribery Case

Tokyo, Feb. 6 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo District Court on Friday acquitted a former department chief at the National Cancer Center Japan, ruling that no intent on his part could be established in an alleged medical device bribery case. Defendant Yusuke Hashimoto, 49, former head of hepatobiliary and pancreatic oncology at the National Cancer Center Hospital East, was accused of receiving a total of 3.15 million yen in cash transfers from Zeon Medical Inc., a Tokyo-based medical device maker, in June 2020 and May 2021. Prosecutors had said the payments were made in return for favoring the company’s products at the hospital in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo. The prosecution sought a prison term of two years and six months and a penalty equal to the alleged bribe amount. Meanwhile, the defense claimed that Hashimoto was not guilty, saying that the payments were legitimate compensation for research to evaluate the usability of the company’s medical devices. Presiding Judge Katsuko Mukai said that the research conducted by Hashimoto in fiscal 2019 under a contract with the company had substantive content and could not be considered to have been carried out to win bribes. As for similar research in fiscal 2020, the court said Zeon Medical had acted with intent to bribe. Mukai, however, ruled that Hashimoto believed he was fulfilling contractual obligations similar to those of the previous year and therefore lacked the intent required for a bribery conviction. The verdict for former Zeon Medical President Noboru Yanagida, 69, charged with paying bribes, is scheduled for April 16. Hiroshi Ichikawa, deputy chief prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, said that the prosecution will closely examine the not-guilty ruling before deciding how to respond. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]