Accused of receiving nearly $40,000 from Taiwan to fund his Harvard studies in exchange for negotiating Taiwanese interests into a U.S.-Japan defense agreement, a former Harvard fellow yesterday denied knowing the ultimate source of the money that is at the heart of a growing scandal.

According to recent press reports, Masahiro Akiyama, who had been affiliated with Harvard’s Asia Center as a distinguished fellow, is allegedly part of an expanding international scandal involving diplomats from the U.S., Japan, South Africa, Nicaragua and Panama paid to advance the interests of Taiwan.

Numerous media reports allege that James Kelly, a top Bush administration official, was responsible for channeling money from Taiwan to Akiyama when he headed the Pacific Forum of Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Honolulu-based think tank.

Kelly currently serves as assistant secretary of state for East Asia.

Akiyama, the former Japanese vice minister of defense, allegedly received money from Taiwan in exchange for negotiating Taiwanese interests into U.S.-Japan defense accords in 1997.

In an e-mail to The Crimson yesterday, Akiyama said he did not know the source of some of the money that funded his stay at Harvard—specifically, the nearly $40,000 that came through CSIS and is at the heart of the scandal.

The Crimson reported last Friday that Akiyama had received money from two sources, the Pacific Forum of CSIS and the Yamada International Corporation.

The Washington Post reported the same day that Kelly, then director of CSIS, funneled money from a source in Taiwan through his organization to pay for Akiyama’s stay at Harvard.

CSIS has acknowledged that the Taiwan Transport Machinery Corporation paid $50,000 to CSIS for Akiyama’s stay at Harvard, $10,000 of which was retained by CSIS.

Taiwan Transport Machinery then contributed another $50,000 to the think tank.

Akiyama applied to study at Harvard in 1999 after resigning amidst charges of corruption.

Ezra F. Vogel, Ford professor of the social sciences emeritus at the Fairbank Center, said Harvard’s Asia Center welcomed Akiyama as an expert on the U.S.-Japan security relationship.

Vogel said that both he and Joseph S. Nye, dean of the Kennedy School of Government (KSG), knew Akiyama from their work in defense negotiation in Washington.

According to Vogel, there were no funds available for Akiyama from Harvard.

Nye confirmed that Akiyama did not receive funding from the KSG and was a non-salaried associate of the Asia Center.

“James Kelly, who appreciated Akiyama’s special knowledge and potential contribution to the field, offered Akiyama to help find funds,” Vogel said.

When asked about his relationship to Kelly, Vogel said, “I do know James Kelly and know that in his position at CSIS he wanted to promote good research on the U.S.-Japan relationship.”

The Crimson reported Friday that CSIS had provided $39,600 for Akiyama from 1999 to 2000.

But recent news reports claim that Peng Run-tzu, a politically-active industrialist, arranged for Taiwan Transport Machinery to send money through James Kelly at CSIS to Akiyama.

Former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui allegedly created a secret slush fund to bribe foreign officials, according to the Washington Post, and companies like Peng’s Taiwan Transport Machinery were fronts for this secret campaign.

Akiyama denied knowledge of Peng’s involvement in his fellowship funds at Harvard.

“I know Mr. Peng. I met with him in a seminar held in Tokyo when I was serving for [the] Japanese Government. But we didn’t have any contact in this process,” Akiyama wrote in an e-mail.

Akiyama also denied any connection with Taiwan and said that he did not know Kelly before coming to Harvard. He said that he was not aware of the funding sources for his stay.

Kelly could not be reached for comment.

The Pacific Forum of CSIS was also unavailable for comment.

The Crimson reported Friday that the Yamada International Corporation, a Japanese company with a U.S. based subsidiary, sponsored Akiyama from 2000 to 2001—after his CSIS funding ran out.

Yamada International—which transfers American military technology to Japan—sponsored Akiyama’s study of U.S.-Japan strategic cooperation.

Yamada International Corporation could not be reached for comment.

Both Nye and Vogel said in separate e-mail messages that they are not acquainted with either Taiwan Transport Machinery or Yamada International Corp.