Two executives of an air conditioner manufacturer were arrested Monday for selling the Soviet Union a chemical used in missile guidance systems, police said.
Tsugio Uesaka and Yoshimichi Udagawa of Daikin Industries Ltd. were arrested for forging export documents and selling nearly pure halogenated hydrocarbon to the Soviet Union, police officials in Osaka saidExports of the solution in concentrated form to communist countries are prohibited under Japanese law and under an international agreement regulating the sale of high-technology products to Soviet bloc nations.
Daikin, a major air conditioner maker based in Osaka, apologized for the illegal exports but denied any responsibility for the sale, saying the two executives had acted independently.