TOKYO -- Investigators looking into bid-rigging on projects related to Japan's next-generation bullet train line have questioned former executives of contractors Taisei and Shimizu, sources close to the probe said on Wednesday.
Obayashi, another contractor, has been a focus of the investigation, due to suspicions that it cheated to win the contract for an emergency exit on the planned maglev line, the Linear Chuo Shinkansen. Executives of Kajima -- Obayashi's sole rival in the last round of bidding for the project -- have also been questioned. But the authorities' move to interview former officials of other companies suggests there may have been foul play in earlier bidding processes.
