According to the daily Yomiuri Shimbun, NEC is being investigated by Tokyo prosecutors on suspicion of overcharging the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) on contracts to provide communications equipment for an international space station over the course of several years.

A Nasda spokesman told Reuters the news was "a bit of a shock" but declined to comment further.

"The matter is currently being investigated, and we still don't know details, such as what amount of money is involved," he said.An NEC spokesman also declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Kyodo news agency quoted Nasda president Isao Uchida as confirming that Nasda had engaged in dealings with NEC similar to those that the defence agency had.

Uchida, inFlorida to meet Japanese astronaut Chiaki Mukai who had just returned to Earth with the US space shuttle Discovery, was quoted as saying: "We have come to understand a little that we have been doing things similar to the defence agency.