Overview
- Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s Investigation Division 2 detained Dr. Takehiro Matsubara, 53, on Nov. 19 on suspicion of accepting bribes.
- A former employee of listed device maker Japan M.D.M., Takayuki Suzuki, was also arrested on suspected bribery charges.
- Authorities allege payments tied to femoral implant selection were made in September 2021 and January 2023 by channeling money into a hospital donation account.
- Police are examining roughly ¥1.5 million in donations from five companies between 2016 and 2023 and whether some funds were diverted to non-research uses such as personal computer purchases.
- University procedures reportedly allowed about 86% of donated sums to be spent at clinicians’ discretion, and Matsubara held a role with influence over which devices were used in surgeries.