A specific company has been receiving business orders for nearly 10 years at a MHLW agency…Former elite department head who graduated from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Medicine: “preferential treatment for acquaintances” power reality.

It appears that he has been favoring his “friends” for many years with the great power he possesses.

On June 8, the Investigation Division 2 of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Gen Sato, 62, a professor at the University of Medical Innovation and International Nursing Faculty, on suspicion of violating the Official Bidding Prevention Act. Sato is alleged to have arranged to give certain companies an advantage in bidding for contracts at the National Institute of Health Sciences (hereafter referred to as “NIHS”). The institute is an agency of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare that provides specialized training for employees involved in health, medicine, and welfare, and makes policy proposals.

Sato was the director of the Policy and Technology Evaluation Research Department at the institute. His background is spectacular. Sato, a native of Gifu Prefecture, graduated from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Medicine in 1986. He later studied public health at Harvard University and served as a lecturer at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Medicine,” said a MHLW official.

Special Circumstances That Caused Competitors to Abandon the Bid

The suspect, Sato, became head of the Department of Medical Sciences in 2011. He held this key position for 10 years until his retirement in 2009.

The representative of the company is an acquaintance of Sato. In addition to increasing the number of years of experience required for bidding from one year to three years, the company is alleged to have provided A with undisclosed specifications so that it would be better qualified to participate in the bidding process.

The changes to the specifications caused competitors to abandon their bids, and Company A was the only one to participate, winning the contract for approximately 8.75 million yen. In the 10 years that Sato was the general manager of the company, the company was contracted to do all of the work except for the year 2006.

According to a June 10 Jiji Press report, Sato instructed his subordinate to adjust the bidding requirements so that Company A would win the bid. According to the June 10 Jiji Press report, Sato instructed his subordinate to adjust the bidding requirements so that Company A would win the bid.

At the time he was the general manager, Sato was a national public official. It seems that he was free to make changes to the bidding process at his own discretion. Not only Sato, but also managers of MHLW-related organizations have a great deal of power. In some cases, they can influence budgets, audits, and personnel matters.

Having immense power may have diminished their sense of crisis.’ In June 2008, an accountant at the National Hospital Organization embezzled approximately 1.85 million yen, and there have been a series of troubles at the nation’s medical institutions,” said a MHLW official.

In response to this incident, the Institute of Medical Science said, “It is truly regrettable that the former employee has been arrested. We will continue to cooperate fully (with the investigation) if requested. The police have not revealed whether the suspect Sato is guilty or not, but are investigating the quid pro quo from Company A, among other things.