Three people, including another former department manager, have been arrested and indicted in a case of government bid-rigging over bids for construction ordered by Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Three people, including another former department manager, have been filed with documents on suspicion of violating the Government-Bid-Billing Prevention Act. It was learned through interviews with investigators that he had been sent to the prosecutor's office.
Regarding Chiyoda Ward, defendant Hidehiko Shimazaki (64), who was a member of the ward assembly, and Defendant Itsumi Yoshimura (61), who was the director of administrative management, have been involved in a lawsuit against a local elementary school that took place four years ago in 2020. He has been arrested and indicted on suspicion of violating the Government Collusion Prevention Act for providing bid information on five projects, including kindergarten renovation work, to contractors.
Former manager Yoshimura had been transferred from the department in charge of bidding at the time, so the Metropolitan Police Department investigated the matter, believing that there was another employee who had leaked bidding information.
As a result, three people were involved: a male employee in his 50s who was the successor to former Director Yoshimura, a male employee in his 50s who was the manager of the contract department, and a male employee in his 60s who was the section manager of the contract department. Interviews with people involved in the investigation revealed that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department sent documents to the public prosecutor on suspicion of violating the Government Corruption Prevention Act.
It is believed that the former manager leaked the information obtained from the three people to a former lawmaker, who then passed it on to the contractor.
Chiyoda Ward is currently investigating the employees involved in the incident and plans to discipline them in the future.