Mitsuru Asada

Former Hannan Chairman Mitsuru Asada, 65, was arrested after being spotted by police in the city of Osaka after a warrant had been issued for him April 16. Ten others who were wanted in connection with the case had been arrested by April 17, investigators said.

Police allege that the meat co-op falsely labeled imported beef as domestic so that the government would buy it as part of a program to deal with a beef glut after the discovery of Japan's first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in September 2001.

Investigators contend that the government was swindled out of some ¥640 million by the cooperative.

According to police, Asada and the others conspired to sell 570 tons of imported beef to the All Japan Meat Industry Cooperative Associations labeled as domestic under the state-sponsored buyback scheme.

The Japan Times Weekly: April 24, 2004
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