Ex-Nissan worker arrested for corporate secrets theft

TOKYO - A former Nissan Motor employee was arrested on Tuesday, news reports and officials said, after allegedly stealing corporate secrets from the Japanese automaker.

Police in Kanagawa, southwest of Tokyo, arrested Kenichi Okamura, 37, for allegedly violating laws preventing unfair competition, Japan's public broadcaster NHK and other outlets said.

Police suspect the man secretly accessed Nissan's computer systems in July and copied details of its sales plan for sports utility vehicles, the news reports said.

Okamura, who was working at the company's office in Atsugi when the alleged incident occurred, denies involvement, NHK added.

A Nissan spokeswoman said: "We filed a criminal complaint against the former employee after it was discovered that he illegally took corporate information, including that which was confidential." A Kanagawa Police Department spokesman declined to confirm the reports.