TOKYO AP Prosecutors arrested the chairman of Fuji Heavy Industries Tuesday on suspicion of bribing a ruling party legislator for help in obtaining a defense contract Japanese media reports said. Fuji Heavy Chairman Isamu Kawai 70 was arrested after prosecutors raided the company's headquarters to search for evidence Kyodo News reported. Kawai and other top executives allegedly asked Yojiro Nakajima who has been arrested on separate charges for help in obtaining a contract to develop an amphibian airplane for Japan's Marine Self-Defense Forces. The executives are suspected of bribing Nakajima while he was a parliamentary vice defense minister. Prosecutors and company officials would not confirm the arrest. Last week prosecutors arrested Yasuyuki Kogure 64 a former Fuji Heavy executive director on charges of giving 5 million yen dlrs 41000 in kickbacks to Nakajima. Nakajima 39 a Liberal Democratic Party member of Parliament was arrested last month on charges of ordering false receipts made to account for missing party money. The arrest was unrelated to the Fuji Heavy Industries case. Investigators also suspect money Fuji Heavy Industries gave to Nakajima was used to bribe other members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and his supporters in preparation for an election. Fuji Heavy Industries maker of Subaru automobiles has said it donated 4 million yen dlrs 33000 to Nakajima since 1993 and bought 740000 yen dlrs 6115 worth of tickets for fund-raising parties for the lawmaker. In a separate scandal involving the Defense Agency ministry officials are being investigated for allowing NEC Corp. inflate defense contract bills in exchange for executive posts for retiring bureaucrats. Two Defense Agency officials have been indicted in the scandal as have a dozen employees at NEC and two of its subsidiaries. Defense Minister Fukushiro Nukaga resigned last week to take responsibility for the scandal. Japan's political world has been rocked by a series of corruption scandals in recent years that have exposed cozy ties between government officials and businesses. UR; js APW19981201.0131.txt.body.html APW19981201.1206.txt.body.html