P.M. BRIEFING : Japan Bribery Case Nets Ex-Official

Authorities today arrested a former government vice minister on charges he took bribes from a Japanese conglomerate, the latest bombshell in a widening stock scandal that has tainted the highest echelons of power.

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors’ Office arrested Takashi Kato, 58, the former vice minister of labor and the highest-ranking public official yet arrested in the scandal. Kato was charged with accepting bribes from Recruit Co. in 1986, when he bought bargain-priced stocks in Recruit-Cosmos Co., a subsidiary. He allegedly earned about $56,000 in profits when he later sold the stock.