Defense Agency punishes 29 officials without holding director general responsible for systematic illegal act

The Defense Agency on June 20 announced punitive action against 29 DA officials for making a list of personal information of citizens who requested records from the agency.

Among the 29 people was Yanagisawa Kyoji, the Director general's secretariat chief, who will lose his post and have his pay reduced for two months. Director General Nakatani Gen, who was not punished, was only asked to "voluntarily return" 20 percent of his salary for two months.

The punishment was determined based on a report the DA published on June 11, saying that the case was a "personal act."

Kijima Hideo, Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives, said at a press conference, "The fact cannot be concealed in this way."

Pointing out that the DA director general was not held responsible despite the fact that the DA did the systematic illegal activity, Kijima said, "Punishment should only be determined after the truth of the case is ascertained."

Akahata on June 21 said that the Defense Agency, which has systematically monitored citizens' personal thoughts, is not qualified to sponsor the contingency bills. (end)