TMCnet News
2ND LD: Police raid Yamaha Motor over chopper export to China+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, Jan. 23_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING INFO) Police on Monday launched raids on Yamaha Motor Co.'s head office in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, and other places to search for evidence on suspicion that the company illegally exported an unmanned helicopter to China, investigative sources said. The company allegedly exported the chopper for the use of pesticides exported to China last December without permission of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, in violation of the foreign exchange and trade law, according to the sources. Export permission is required for the type of helicopter exported as it could be diverted to military use, according to the sources. Yamaha, a major engine manufacturer, is also believed to have been involved in the same kind of illegal exports on some 10 occasions, the sources said. |