National News

Huser president Ojima held in building scam

Authorities May 17 arrested a property developer accused of fraud in a scandal over hundreds of buildings that had not been built according to earthquake-resistance standards.

Prosecutors arrested Susumu Ojima, president of the Tokyo-based failed Huser Management Ltd., for allegedly charging a buyer about ¥50 million in 2005 for an apartment.

The apartment was in a condominium built using data that incorrectly indicated the building would be safe in the event of an earthquake.

Ojima knew the buildings were not built to standard when he accepted the payment, sources said. He has denied the allegations.

The scandal broke last year when architect Hidetsugu Aneha admitted he had covered up defects in buildings across the country.

Aneha allegedly designed more than 200 buildings using faked quake data because profit-hungry developers, including Huser, had pressured him to cut costs.

Huser developed 26 condominiums whose structural data were fabricated by Aneha.

Aneha, who was arrested last month, was indicted May 17. He was accused of violating construction business law.

President Moriyoshi Kimura and former executive Mitsuo Morishita of Kimura Construction Co., another developer, were also indicted May 17 on suspicion of receiving payments for a hotel built using data faked by Aneha. (AP)

Shukan ST: May 26, 2006

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