A former president of scandal-tainted defense equipment trading house Yamada Corp.'s U.S. subsidiary has told Japanese prosecutors he will soon return to Japan, where he faces arrest, sources said Nov. 12.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office has obtained a warrant for the former Yamada International Corp. president, Osamu Akiyama, 70, and plans to arrest him on his return on suspicion of conspiracy to embezzle, the sources said.

Akiyama is a close aide to former Yamada executive Motonobu Miyazaki, 69, who recently came under fire together with former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya for their close ties.