Japanese Cabinet OKs Stiffer Penalties for Export Violators
Japan’s Cabinet approved stiffer penalties Friday for violators of export controls on sensitive goods to East Bloc countries in an effort to prevent a repeat of Toshiba Machine Co.’s illegal sales of strategic goods to the Soviets.
However, Japanese trade officials said they doubted that the changes in the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law will satisfy the United States.
“It is not our intention to discourage free trade but we are determined to prevent a recurrence of the Toshiba case, which has damaged our own security as well as the free world as a whole,” said Foreign Ministry official Hiroshi Hirabayashi.
Toshiba Machine Co. said Friday that it has fired the manager of its machine tool export control department and demoted or reprimanded six other employees. It said all employees involved in the illegal diversions have been disciplined. The company’s president resigned in June and two top executives from electronics giant Toshiba Corp., the parent company, quit in July.
The measure is designed to soothe congressional anger at the export of machine tools and computer programs by Toshiba Machine Co. U.S. officials say the sales damaged Western security by enabling the Soviets to build quieter submarine propellers, making their vessels harder to track.
Among other things, the amendment increases the maximum one-year ban on sales to East Bloc countries by violators to three years, raises the prison sentence to a maximum of five years and doubles the fine on violators from $7,000 to $14,000.
The measure will be submitted to Parliament, which is expected to approve it.
Hajime Tamura, Japan’s minister for trade and industry, said the change in the law is necessary to prevent U.S.-Japan relations from deteriorating further over the Toshiba case but that he is unsure if it will erase U.S. anger.
Atsushi Iwai, director of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry’s security export control, said he does not expect the amendment alone to satisfy Congress.
