Japanese Firm’s Sales to Iran Under Scrutiny (nuke tech)

[Barrett808]

Japanese Firm’s Sales to Iran Under Scrutiny
By MARTIN FACKLER
Published: August 28, 2006

TOKYO, Aug. 28 — An investigation into a Japanese manufacturer suspected of exporting sophisticated measuring devices to Libya’s former atomic weapons program has increasingly focused on whether the company also sold similar equipment to Iran, a government official said today.

The police and regulators have broadened their investigation of the company, Mitutoyo, a precision instruments maker, as evidence has emerged that it may have also sold equipment to Iran for use in making centrifuges to enrich uranium, said an official in the Trade Ministry, which administers export restrictions. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the entire investigation, which is being led by the Tokyo police.

On Friday, the police arrested five Mitutoyo officials, including the president, on suspicion of exporting equipment to Libya before that country scrapped its weapons program three years ago. The police say the equipment was shipped to Libya by Scomi Precision Engineering, a Malaysian company that has been linked to Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani nuclear scientist who later confessed to selling nuclear technology.

The increasing focus on Iran has shed light on the clandestine routes that country has used to obtain nuclear-related technology to advance its enrichment program. Iran is currently in a standoff with the United Nations over the program, which Iran says will create fuel to generate power, but which the United States and others fear will be used to build nuclear weapons.

In April, Iran disclosed that it was trying to build more advanced and powerful centrifuges known as model P-2, which would speed its enrichment program. It is unclear whether the Japanese equipment has been used by Iran to develop the more sophisticated type of centrifuges.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/28/world/asia/28cnd-japan.html