ID :
9467
Fri, 06/06/2008 - 13:59
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ABOUT 400 MOF BUREUACRATS RECEIVED FAVOR FROM TAXI DRAIVERS
TOKYO, June 6 Kyodo - The Finance Ministry said Thursday a total of 383 ministry officials have admitted to receiving favors from taxi drivers when taking rides home late at night on taxpayers' money, with one of them receiving cash and 18 gift certificates.
The 19 bureaucrats received cash or gift certificates worth up to 5,000 yen each time. The remaining 364 officials were served drinks such as beer and tea, snacks and fruit, the ministry said.
Of the 364, 37 officials were served drinks more than 50 times, it said.
The findings are based on emergency interviews with all of the 2,681 officials of the ministry and the National Tax Agency who work at their headquarters in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki area.
The ministry conducted the interviews earlier this week following a request from Akira Nagatsuma, a House of Representatives member from the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
The ministry indicated that the provision of the items by the taxi drivers did not constitute bribery because the drivers are not directly contracted by the ministry.
However, the bureaucrats' behavior could violate the code of ethics for central government officials, which bans public servants from receiving favors beyond allowable levels based on the conventional wisdom, it said.
The ministry said it will report the interview results to the National Public Service Ethics Board, which authorizes punishments, and consider punitive measures for those who were given favors.
The ministry also said it will prohibit its officials from receiving any gifts from drivers from now on and will order the 383 officials to return what they have received in the past.
The taxi drivers are believed to have done favors for bureaucrats who frequently called them up.
In one extreme case, a bureaucrat in his 30s received cash and gift certificates totaling 1.5 million to 2.25 million yen over the past five years.
He took taxis home as many as 150 days a year and was presented with up to 3,000 yen in cash or gift certificates each time. The taxi fare from the ministry to his home in northern Saitama prefecture is about 25,000 yen, ministry officials said.
The ministry said officials who work past 12:30 a.m. can use taxi tickets funded by taxpayers' money when they return home. Such tickets worth about 480 million yen were used in fiscal 2006.
According to Nagatsuma, officials of not only the Finance Ministry but also of seven other government entities received benefits from taxi drivers.
The Financial Services Agency said 16 agency officials were served beer and snacks when they took taxi rides home late at night.
The 19 bureaucrats received cash or gift certificates worth up to 5,000 yen each time. The remaining 364 officials were served drinks such as beer and tea, snacks and fruit, the ministry said.
Of the 364, 37 officials were served drinks more than 50 times, it said.
The findings are based on emergency interviews with all of the 2,681 officials of the ministry and the National Tax Agency who work at their headquarters in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki area.
The ministry conducted the interviews earlier this week following a request from Akira Nagatsuma, a House of Representatives member from the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
The ministry indicated that the provision of the items by the taxi drivers did not constitute bribery because the drivers are not directly contracted by the ministry.
However, the bureaucrats' behavior could violate the code of ethics for central government officials, which bans public servants from receiving favors beyond allowable levels based on the conventional wisdom, it said.
The ministry said it will report the interview results to the National Public Service Ethics Board, which authorizes punishments, and consider punitive measures for those who were given favors.
The ministry also said it will prohibit its officials from receiving any gifts from drivers from now on and will order the 383 officials to return what they have received in the past.
The taxi drivers are believed to have done favors for bureaucrats who frequently called them up.
In one extreme case, a bureaucrat in his 30s received cash and gift certificates totaling 1.5 million to 2.25 million yen over the past five years.
He took taxis home as many as 150 days a year and was presented with up to 3,000 yen in cash or gift certificates each time. The taxi fare from the ministry to his home in northern Saitama prefecture is about 25,000 yen, ministry officials said.
The ministry said officials who work past 12:30 a.m. can use taxi tickets funded by taxpayers' money when they return home. Such tickets worth about 480 million yen were used in fiscal 2006.
According to Nagatsuma, officials of not only the Finance Ministry but also of seven other government entities received benefits from taxi drivers.
The Financial Services Agency said 16 agency officials were served beer and snacks when they took taxi rides home late at night.
