Four Japanese Admit Guilt in Illegal Export of Nuclear-Related Technology Exports

Four former employees of a Japanese firm today admitted their guilt in charges that they illegally exported equipment that could be used to produce nuclear weapon materials, the company announced (see GSN, Oct. 16).

The four former Mitutoyo Corp. workers, including former company president Kazusaku Tezuka, shipped precision-measurement technology to Malaysia without an export license more than three years ago (see GSN, Sept. 15). The equipment could be used to help fabricate uranium enrichment centrifuges, the Associated Press reported.

The firm has acknowledged its culpability and has pledged to refrain from similar export in the future.

“We deeply regret the inconvenience and problems this matter has caused,” said company spokesman Kazutoshi Sato. “We are continuing our restructuring efforts to prevent it from happening again” (Carl Freire, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, Dec. 4).