TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese military officers helped hide documents sought by prosecutors that implicated the Defense Agency in a procurement scandal, the head of the agency admitted Monday.

Allegations of sweetheart deals involving military equipment procurement already have resulted in several arrests and have cost the jobs of one Defense Agency head and the chairman of a leading electronics firm.Prosecutors say companies affiliated with NEC Corp. overcharged the Defense Agency nearly $13.9 million.

Defense Agency Director General Hosei Norota revealed the complicity in response to a question during testimony today before the lower house of Parliament's budget committee.

"We have found that some documents have been transferred out of the office" by officers from the air, ground and maritime defense forces shortly before prosecutors raided the agency's headquarters Sept. 3, Norota said.

The Defense Agency's top bureaucrat, Seiji Ema, confirmed Norota's remarks. The officers explained they would not be able to carry out their regular duties if prosecutors had seized the materials, Ema said.

The scandal broke in September when prosecutors signaled their readiness to indict officials suspected of conspiring to allow a defense equipment supplier affiliated with NEC Corp. to keep profits made by overcharging the government. The company was allegedly allowed to keep the money in exchange for giving jobs to retiring Defense Agency employees.

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Since then, two Defense Agency officials have been indicted, as have a dozen employees and former employees from NEC Corp. and two subsidiaries.

Last month, Defense Agency chief Norota's predecessor, Fukushiro Nukaga, resigned to take responsibility for the agency's role in the scandal. Three high-ranking officials also resigned.

In October, NEC Chairman Tadahiro Sekimoto also stepped down.

Japan's Defense Agency has also been tainted by a separate scandal involving allegations that the chairman of Fuji Heavy Industries bribed a ruling party legislator for help in obtaining a defense contract. Fuji Heavy Chairman Isamu Kawai, 70, was arrested last week.

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