An in-house investigation by the Defense Agency has confirmed that the agency kept tabs on people who had requested information from it under the Freedom-of-Information Law. According to a fact-finding report released Tuesday, background lists were maintained by the agency's internal bureaus and all three armed services.
While the list held by the Maritime Self-Defense Force was prepared personally by an information officer, the other lists were compiled officially as part of information-disclosure activity. The report says the MSDF list -- which included footnote entries on information seekers' political orientation -- violated privacy legislation but that the other lists were legal.
There is no denying, however, that the compilation of background lists is an abuse of the disclosure system and a breach of public trust. The report effectively acknowledges that background information was collected more or less systemically by the civilian and military branches of the Defense Agency.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.