A 53-year-old doctor at the University of Tokyo Hospital has been arrested on suspicion of accepting about ¥700,000 in bribes from a former executive at a medical equipment company. The payments were allegedly in exchange for prioritizing the firm's devices. Police believe they abused a donation system for research support.
Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department arrested Takehiro Matsubara, a 53-year-old doctor in the Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Tokyo Hospital, on November 19 on suspicion of bribery. Matsubara is also said to serve as chief of the hospital's Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Spinal Surgery.
Arrested on the same day was Takayuki Suzuki, 41, former head of the second Tokyo sales office at medical equipment maker Japan Medical Dynamic Marketing Inc., listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime section. Suzuki is suspected of giving bribes to Matsubara.
According to police, Matsubara allegedly received about ¥700,000 in bribes from the company around September 2021 and January 2023, in exchange for agreeing to prioritize the use of their medical devices, such as implants for femoral fractures. They are believed to have abused a donation system for research support, with Suzuki remitting ¥400,000 twice to the hospital's account, totaling ¥800,000, of which Matsubara could use about 85 percent at his discretion.
Additionally, Matsubara is suspected of receiving a total of about ¥3 million from the company and four others between December 2016 and January 2023, misappropriating at least ¥1.5 million for private purposes, such as buying a computer. The suspects' admissions have not been disclosed.
The University of Tokyo Hospital, established in 1858 and affiliated with the national university's Faculty of Medicine, has about 1,200 beds and 4,300 employees. Its staff are considered public servants and subject to bribery charges.