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Japan Raids Firm Suspected of Illicit Exports
Japanese authorities today raided a company suspected of improperly exporting equipment that could be part of the uranium enrichment process for nuclear weapons, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 12, 2004). Precision instruments manufacturer Mitutoyo Corp. is believed to have exported three-dimensional measuring machines to Japanese companies in China and Thailand in 2001, Kyodo News reported. Some machinery might have ended up in Libya and North Korea via the black market network founded by former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, according to reports. The International Atomic Energy Agency found Mitutoyo-manufactured machinery at nuclear-related sites in Libya during inspections conducted shortly after Tripoli agreed to give up its WMD programs in 2003, according to Japanese press reports. Scomi Precision Engineering Bhd. of Malaysia, which had links to the Khan network, shipped the equipment to Libya via Dubai, AP reported. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police confirmed the raid but refused to provide comment unless an arrest is made, according to AP. Three-dimensional measuring machines, which map cylindrical shapes and can be used to measure uranium enrichment centrifuges, cannot be exported without government permission, said Mikio Aoki, an official at the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry. Japan is a “treasure trove” for nuclear-related technology, said Nobumasa Akiyama, a specialist at the Center of the Promotion of Disarmament and Nonproliferation. “Japanese companies are often uninterested in where their products end up, or what they are used for, and often try to dodge export regulations without realizing the consequences” (Hiroko Tabuchi, Associated Press/Washington Post, Feb. 13).
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