Tokyo, 26 December, /AJMEDIA/
The government will investigate a former Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force chief in connection with an alleged classified information leak by one of his subordinates, government sources said Monday.
A Self-Defense Force criminal investigation unit apparently judged former MSDF Chief of Staff Adm. Hiroshi Yamamura responsible for supervising an MSDF captain who is suspected of the leak that occurred a few years ago, according to the sources.
The Defense Ministry is set to take disciplinary action against the captain on Monday at the earliest, the first time such a breach has come to light since the secrecy law was enacted in December 2014, the sources said.
Yamamura headed the MSDF from April 2019 until March this year, when he retired as an MSDF officer.
The unauthorized disclosure occurred when another MSDF admiral at the time asked the captain for information via another member of the MSDF. The investigative unit was notified of the breach by a whistle-blower, according to the sources.
There has been no evidence that the information was given to another country, they added.
Under the secrecy law, civil servants and others who disclose sensitive information designated as state secrets, such as those regarding foreign policy, defense, counterterrorism and counterespionage, can face up to 10 years in prison.
The law requires security clearance for officials to handle state secrets.
There were a total of 693 state secret cases as of the end of June, of which 392 were designated by the Defense Ministry, according to the Cabinet Secretariat.
