Diet Panel Seeks Improvement over MSDF Info Mishandling

Jiji Press

17:52 JST, July 18, 2024

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — A Japanese parliamentary panel recommended on Wednesday that Defense Minister Minoru Kihara improve information management following the mishandling of specially designated secrets in the Maritime Self-Defense Force.

The House of Representatives’ Board of Oversight and Review of Specially Designated Secrets, chaired by former Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya, made the recommendation through the speaker of the lower chamber of the Diet.

The oversight board urged the minister to drastically review education and regular inspections based on the opinions of outside experts.

The board condemned the mishandling of designated secrets as “causing a loss of trust in our country’s information management system itself,” and called for the introduction of a system to prevent a recurrence.

In the scandal, many personnel without security clearance were assigned to roles with access to designated secrets in the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces. On Friday, the ministry announced punishments for those involved.

“We will implement each preventive measure with firm resolve,” Makoto Oniki, state minister of defense, said at a meeting of the ministry’s committee on the matter on Wednesday.

It was the second time for the Lower House board to make a recommendation under the Diet law. The first time, in January 2023, also followed secret leaks at the MSDF.