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3RD LD: Yamaha Motor raided over unauthorized export of chopper to China+
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)SHIZUOKA, Japan, Jan. 23_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: UPDATING WITH INFO FROM METI)
Police on Monday raided Yamaha Motor Co.'s headquarters and about 20 other locations on suspicion that the Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture-based company attempted an unauthorized export of an unmanned helicopter that could be converted for military use to China.
The company is suspected of trying to export on Dec. 21 a remote-controlled chopper for spraying pesticides on crops to Beijing BVE Technology Co., an aerial photography company that the Japanese police suspect of having links with the People's Liberation Army, according to investigators.
"Our company does not recognize any infringement of the law," said Tooo Otsubo, director of the company, at a news conference held at its head office in Iwata, one of dozens of locations raided by the police.
According to Yamaha Motor, it had exported nine remote-controlled RMAX L181 helicopters -- 3.6 meters long and 70 centimeters wide -- to the Beijing company since 2001.
Otsubo said, "We were made to believe this particular model was not subject to legal restrictions." "If indeed there had been one that was subject (to the restrictions), it may have been a helicopter which we declared for export last December," he said.
The police believe the export attempt was not a procedural mistake but suspect the company was aware of a law violation, saying that the company's promotional video says the unmanned helicopters "can be converted for military applications."
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said a Yamaha Motor official served as the deputy head of the Japan UAV Association, an industrial group of unmanned aerial vehicles makers, and that it should have known that the item had been newly added to the export control list.
Yamaha Motor and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. are two major unmanned helicopter manufacturers in Japan, according to METI.
In January last year, the Japanese government expanded the scope of export control to require official permission for exports of civilian unmanned aircraft that can carry more than 20 liters, given their potential for conversion to military uses such as spraying chemical or biological agents.
An unlicensed export of sensitive items constitute a violation of the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law.
The METI on Monday filed a criminal complaint against Yamaha Motor with a joint investigation team from the Shizuoka and Fukuoka prefectural police forces, alleging the company had exported 13 RMAX series helicopters since last January to South Korea, the United States and China and attempted to ship one more to China.
METI officials said police informed the ministry of Yamaha Motor's suspected illegal exports in August last year. After the company presented an export declaration for a helicopter to Beijing to the Nagoya Customs on Dec. 21, METI conducted on-site inspections at Yamaha Motor on Dec. 22-23, they said.
Fukuoka police seized documents related to the Yamaha Motor case when they searched a Tokyo firm operated by Chinese nationals, in connection with a case of alleged illegal employment of Chinese they had found last April, police sources said.
During the inspections, the trade ministry did not mention that the export was illegal, according to Yamaha Motor's Otsubo.
Yamaha Motor, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's First Section, is Japan's second largest motorcycle manufacturer. It is an affiliate of Yamaha Corp., known for its namesake piano brand.
The 14 RMAX series helicopters sell for between 1.3 million to 12 million yen each, depending on the specifications, the METI officials said. Yamaha Motor exported or tried to ship 14 unmanned aerial vehicles worth about 80 million yen, they said.
On Jan. 11, METI revoked its comprehensive export license given to Yamaha Motor, obliging the firm to go through examinations by the authorities every time it intends to ship its machine tools and unmanned helicopters abroad.
METI will consider whether to take any administrative action against the company depending on the development of the case, the officials said. Under the foreign exchange law, a violator could face an export suspension of up to three years, they said.
In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told a press conference, "It is quite regrettable that a product which may be used for transporting weapons of mass destruction was exported to China."
He said he expects the investigators to clarify the background of the incident.
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