Takemasa Moriya, who was a former top bureaucrat with the Defense Ministry until recently, played golf with an executive at a defense contractor on dozens of occasions a year in violation of in-house regulations, officials said.

Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he will question Moriya, 63, over the allegations. "If it's true, it could damage the public's confidence in the ministry. I'll personally question him as he was a top bureaucrat until recently," he told a press conference on Friday morning.

Moriya played golf with a 69-year-old former senior managing director at Yamada Corp., a major defense contractor, on dozens of occasions a year between 2001 and 2005, ministry officials said.

In-house regulations, enacted in 2000, ban Self-Defense Force personnel from playing golf with work-related parties.

Moriya resigned at the end of August after he had a bitter conflict with then Defense Minister Yuriko Koike over a personnel reshuffle.

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