The Tokyo High Court's ruling last week for the plaintiff in a damages suit over the suicide of a Maritime Self-Defense Force member highlights the deplorable attempt by the MSDF to cover up evidence that the victim was bullied by a senior MSDF member.
Had it not been for the action of a whistle-blower who pointed out the existence of the crucial evidence, background details of the suicide would have been kept hidden. The Defense Ministry needs to take the ruling seriously and implement measures to ensure that the MSDF's tendency as an organization to hide inconvenient facts — as has been pointed out in a separate probe by the Cabinet Office — is eliminated.
The MSDF should also reconsider its reported plan to punish the whistle-blower, who photocopied the files containing the evidence and sent it to the lawyer of the family of the MSDF member who killed himself. The punishment, to be imposed on the grounds that the whistleblower broke internal rules of the force, would run counter to the spirit of the 2004 law to protect whistle-blowers from being subjected to dismissal, pay cuts or other unfair treatment.
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