Shipbuilding Scandal

This is a typical structural corruption case surrounding the government's planned shipbuilding and the passage of the revised Shipbuilding Interest Subsidy Law. It came to light in January 1954. The case was discovered when a shipping company used nearly 300 million yen in kickbacks it received from shipbuilding companies to float part of the national funds lent to planned shipbuilding. It was also revealed that the kickbacks were used as campaign funds to cut in the selection of eligible shipowners for planned shipbuilding, and that they were used to bribe people related to the Ministry of Transport and the Development Bank at the time. It was also revealed that the kickbacks were used to fund operations with more than 30 influential people in politics and government to pass the revised Shipbuilding Interest Subsidy Law (July 1953), a concession bill aimed at lowering interest rates on loans for planned shipbuilding, and the case developed into the largest scandal since World War II. Since January 1954, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has arrested Aizaburo Yokota, president of Yamashita Kisen Kaisha, Gengo Tsuboi, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Jiro Arita (Deputy Secretary General of the Liberal Party), and four other Diet members, and in April, executives of the Japanese Shipowners Association and the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Association, as well as the accounting officer of the Liberal Party headquarters. The investigation has reached the center of the political world and is in the final stages of getting to the heart of the matter. On April 20, the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office decided to request permission to arrest Eisaku Sato (Secretary General of the Liberal Party) on suspicion of bribery. However, the following day, April 21, Minister of Justice Takeshi Inukai exercised his command authority under Article 14 of the Public Prosecutor's Office Act, causing the investigation to fail, and on July 30, the Prosecutor General declared the investigation over. The exercise of command authority prevented the pursuit of structural corruption, which was the source of political funds, and it became difficult to uncover corruption cases thereafter. Eleven shipbuilding companies and 17 shipping companies were searched, 34 of the 71 people arrested were indicted, and more than 270 million yen was channeled into politics and government circles.

[Ara Takashi]

"Postwar Political Trial History Volume 2" edited by Jiro Tanaka (1980, Daiichi Hoki Publishing) " "The Structure of Corruption" by Tetsuro Murofushi (Iwanami Shinsho)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

政府の計画造船および造船利子補給法改正案成立をめぐる典型的な構造汚職事件。1954年（昭和29）1月表面化した。事件は、海運会社が、計画造船に融資された国家資金の一部を造船会社から得た3億円近くのリベートを裏金として浮き貸ししたことから発覚した。またそのリベートが計画造船の適格船主決定に際し、割り込みの運動資金としても利用され、当時の運輸省・開発銀行関係者へ贈賄したことも明らかになった。さらに計画造船融資の金利引下げを目的とした利権法案である造船利子補給法改正案の成立（1953年7月）のため、政・官界有力者三十数名に工作資金としてこのリベートを用いていた事実も明らかとなって、事件は第二次世界大戦後最大の疑獄へと発展した。東京地方検察庁は、54年の1月以降、山下汽船会社社長横田愛三郎、運輸省官房長壺井玄剛をはじめ、有田二郎（自由党副幹事長）ほか国会議員4名を、4月には日本船主協会・日本造船工業会の幹部、自由党本部会計責任者を、と続々逮捕した。捜査は政界中枢に及び事件の核心に迫る最終段階に入った。4月20日、最高検察庁は、収賄容疑で佐藤栄作（自由党幹事長）の逮捕許諾請求を決定した。しかし、翌21日、犬養健(いぬかいたける)法相は検察庁法第14条によって指揮権を発動したため捜査は挫折(ざせつ)し、7月30日、検事総長は終結を宣言した。指揮権発動によって政治資金の元となる構造汚職の追及が阻止され、以降、疑獄事件摘発も困難となった。捜索を受けた造船会社は11社、海運会社は17社、逮捕者71人のうち起訴された者34人、政・官界に流れた資金は2億7000万円以上であった。

［荒　敬］

『田中二郎編『戦後政治裁判史録　第2巻』（1980・第一法規出版）』▽『室伏哲郎著『汚職の構造』（岩波新書）』

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