Japanese toolmaker accused of illegal exports

Wednesday, 4 March 2009

Four employees of Japanese machinery firm Horkos Corp have been arrested on suspicion of knowingly violating national security laws by exporting equipment to China and South Korea which could be used in the enrichment of uranium.
 

Horkos' Fukuyama headquarters (Image: Horkos)

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti) said that Horkos, based in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, produced and exported the precision machine tools called "machining centres" to China and South Korea from 2001 without the permission of the ministry, thereby contravening the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law.
 
Under the law, permission must be obtained from the trade minister for the export of products that may threaten international peace and safety.
 
According to a Jiji Press report, police accuse one former employee and three current employees of Horkos of exporting precision machine tools to automotive companies in China and South Korea without gaining government approval. The tools could reportedly be converted to manufacture parts for centrifuges used in uranium enrichment. However, Horkos is said to have made a false statement that the tools were of lower precision.
 
The men are specifically accused of falsifying export customs declarations in November 2004 and September 2006 for 16 machining centres shipped to China and South Korea, according to a Mainichi Daily report. The newspaper added that Horkos is thought to have exported some 600 machining centres to China and South Korea since 2002.
 
Police raided Horkos' headquarters and adjacent factory in July 2008 due to suspicions that the company had illegally exported dual-use machine tools. It remains unclear if the company was aware that its products could be diverted for military purposes. Meti said that investigations are continuing.
 
Horkos was founded in 1940. It now has some 665 employees and annual sales of round ¥20.3 billion ($205 million).