Ex-Japan Cancer Center Doctor Cleared in Bribery Case

Tokyo, Feb. 6 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo District Court on Friday acquitted a former department chief at the National Cancer Center Japan, ruling that no intent on his part could be established in an alleged medical device bribery case.

Defendant Yusuke Hashimoto, 49, former head of hepatobiliary and pancreatic oncology at the National Cancer Center Hospital East, was accused of receiving a total of 3.15 million yen in cash transfers from Zeon Medical Inc., a Tokyo-based medical device maker, in June 2020 and May 2021.

Prosecutors had said the payments were made in return for favoring the company’s products at the hospital in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo.

The prosecution sought a prison term of two years and six months and a penalty equal to the alleged bribe amount.

Meanwhile, the defense claimed that Hashimoto was not guilty, saying that the payments were legitimate compensation for research to evaluate the usability of the company’s medical devices.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]