Two former executives of Nomura Securities Co Ltd and a Japanese government finance official were reported to have been arrested on Sunday on charges that they took part in bribery.

The incident is the latest setback for Nomura, which has only recently been allowed to resume full operations after a previous scandal involving payoffs to a racketeer.

The reports, on the NHK television network and Kyodo news service, said the Tokyo Public Prosecutors Office arrested Takehiko Isaka, 54, now director in charge of accounting at the state-run Japan Highway Public Corp.

They said Naotaka Murasumi, 57, a former Nomura vice president, and Isao Teranishi, 50, a former Nomura managing director, were also arrested on suspicion of giving bribes to Isaka.

Prosecutors said they believe Isaka received 2.6 million yen in bribes between July 1994 and December 1995 in exchange for helping Nomura become lead underwriter for the corporation's foreign bonds.

They said Isaka was wined, dined and treated to expensive golf sessions on 41 occasions.

Scandal spread

The highway corporation is under the control of the Construction Ministry and operates a vast network of major roads across Japan.

Nomura, Japan's largest brokerage, was the first firm last year to be charged with making payments to a corporate racketeer in exchange for his silence at annual shareholder meetings.

The scandal later spread to all of Japan's big four brokerages as well as a major bank.

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