Tokyo Univ. Professor Arrested over Bribery Tied to Joint Research

Tokyo, Jan. 24 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo police on Saturday arrested a 62-year-old professor at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Medicine on suspicion of accepting bribes related to a joint research project.

Shinichi Sato, from Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, was arrested by Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department for allegedly receiving entertainment worth some 1.8 million yen across about 30 sessions at high-end clubs and brothels between March 2023 and around August 2024, in return for providing favors regarding matters related to a joint research project on plant cannabinoids found in cannabis plants, which began in April 2023.

The University of Tokyo operates projects that leverage funding from private companies and other entities to conduct joint research on issues of significant public importance.

Whether Sato has admitted to the charges has not been disclosed.

The MPD's Second Investigation Division is also conducting voluntary investigations on a 52-year-old representative of the association, believed to have provided the bribes, as well as a 46-year-old former specially appointed associate professor at the graduate school who was involved in the joint research and allegedly received entertainment with Sato.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]