Labels:text | screenshot | newspaper | publication | news OCR: INSIGHT Whenever he was tion train that Yamanashi, a major construction company would handed cash from would link Tokyo need to procure local supplies such as raw con- to Osaka in an a company at his crete. Hokuto would act as the contractor's inter- hour. In 1989, Ya- mediary. Not only would it receive a fee from the office, Kanemaru was manashi was one construction company, Hokuto would also get a forced to either stash of three prefec- kickback-a bit less than US$1 per cubic metre of it in a secret vault tures wing for the concrete-from the supplier. Even if the broker were not involved in a buyer- or take it home extended track us- ed to test an ad- supplier deal, the company would still be paid a and hide it in a vanced prototype retainer (40 cents per cubic metre of concrete) as drawer of the train. The a token of "respect" to Kanemaru. go-ahead went to According to press reports, Kanemaru's office Yamanashi; ministry officials now privately admit would refer to such money as "annual membership that Kanemaru's pressure resulted in the decision fees" in "study groups". The result of all this: even to build the US$2.54 billion track there. with no more than a dozen employees, Hokuto's But the politician wasn't satisfied with the fiscal 1991 income was an unbelievable US$117 standard fare of political donations. According to million. police, Kanemaru soon crossed the line from being The payoffs, a greedy politician to just being a thief. however illegal, Beginning around 1980, he set up a string of were meant to "family" firms, perhaps as many as a dozen, be political do- headed by his relatives or most trusted supporters. nations. But by One example was Hokuto Shoji Co, a Tokyo busi- now, say tax in- ness listed by charter as a construction materials vestigators, Kan- CITIBANKCO trader. After winning a public works contract in emaru was mak-
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