Tokyo, Sept. 15 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Supreme Court has dismissed appeals against the guilty rulings of Taisei Corp. and Kajima Corp., as well as former executives of the two major general contractors, in a bid-rigging case involving the Chuo Shinkansen magnetic levitation train line project. On Monday, the five justices on the top court’s Third Petty Bench, presided over by Justice Eriko Watanabe, unanimously decided to reject the appeals. The 18-month prison sentences for former Taisei executive Takashi Okawa, 75, and former senior Kajima official Ichiro Osawa, 69, suspended for three years, and the 250-million-yen fines on the two companies are now set to be finalized. Fines on two other major general contractors, Obayashi Corp. and Shimizu Corp., have already been finalized. Their officials were not prosecuted after the two firms voluntarily reported the bid-rigging. The Third Petty Bench said that the exchange of information among the four companies’ senior officials undermined the premise of competition, creating a situation in which contract prices could be manipulated to some extent. According to the top court decision, Okawa and Osawa conspired with former Obayashi and Shimizu executives between April 2014 and August 2015 to predetermine the winners of contracts for three construction sections at Shinagawa Station in Tokyo and Nagoya Station in central Japan, and shared planned bid prices. During the trial, the defense claimed that there was no competition from the beginning because Central Japan Railway Co., or JR Tokai, which will operate the maglev line, had decided in advance who would win the bids. Tokyo District Court rejected this claim in 2021, and Tokyo High Court upheld the district court’s ruling in 2023. Following the top court decision, Taisei and Kajima issued statements expressing regret that their arguments were not accepted, but adding that they took the decision seriously. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
