December 27, 2012
Akahata on December 26 learned that 30 retired officials of the Tokyo metropolitan government held executive positions at 24 private firms that were awarded Tokyo’s public works contracts over the past three years.
Former Governor Ishihara Shintaro planned to transfer Tokyo’s fish market to a soil-polluted location which previously was a gas-making plant. In a cleanup works-related bidding, 15 general construction contractors won the contracts. Ten of them had some ex-Tokyo officials as executives or board members. The 15 tenders made the successful bid at more than 90% of the bidding price set by Tokyo. The amount was 54.17 billion yen in total.
Four out of six successful bidders for public works of two tunnels associated with the construction of a loop-line expressway in central Tokyo had ex-Tokyo officials in high positions.
Several other general construction contractors accepting retired Tokyo cadres also won bids for the project of the construction of a loop-line expressway, a shield tunneling works project, and a project of tunnel works at another loop-line expressway.
Cozy ties between Tokyo metropolitan government officials and general construction contractors tightened in 1979-1993 at the time of the then Governor Suzuki Shun’ichi with the backing of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komei Party. At that time, one out of every five director-level officials after retirement obtained executive positions in the construction industry. The previous governor, Ishihara, also maintained public-private collusive relationships through the so-called “Amakudari” practice.
A lower-ranked government official said to an Akahata reporter, “Private companies under the Amakudari practice include remuneration paid to the ex-administrators in the tender prices to increase their profits.”
Akahata contends that the metropolitan government should prohibit the Amakudari practice in order to end the collusion and should review non-urgent and non-essential public works projects.
Former Governor Ishihara Shintaro planned to transfer Tokyo’s fish market to a soil-polluted location which previously was a gas-making plant. In a cleanup works-related bidding, 15 general construction contractors won the contracts. Ten of them had some ex-Tokyo officials as executives or board members. The 15 tenders made the successful bid at more than 90% of the bidding price set by Tokyo. The amount was 54.17 billion yen in total.
Four out of six successful bidders for public works of two tunnels associated with the construction of a loop-line expressway in central Tokyo had ex-Tokyo officials in high positions.
Several other general construction contractors accepting retired Tokyo cadres also won bids for the project of the construction of a loop-line expressway, a shield tunneling works project, and a project of tunnel works at another loop-line expressway.
Cozy ties between Tokyo metropolitan government officials and general construction contractors tightened in 1979-1993 at the time of the then Governor Suzuki Shun’ichi with the backing of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komei Party. At that time, one out of every five director-level officials after retirement obtained executive positions in the construction industry. The previous governor, Ishihara, also maintained public-private collusive relationships through the so-called “Amakudari” practice.
A lower-ranked government official said to an Akahata reporter, “Private companies under the Amakudari practice include remuneration paid to the ex-administrators in the tender prices to increase their profits.”
Akahata contends that the metropolitan government should prohibit the Amakudari practice in order to end the collusion and should review non-urgent and non-essential public works projects.
