Tokyo Police Sulphuric Leaks of Personal Information

Lawsuit against Dai-San Shokan publisher and its president Akira Kitagawa

According to the Shingetsu Institute, "leaked police documents reveal that Japan is increasingly manipulated by US anti-terrorism policy. The SNA’s initial survey of the materials leaked from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Public Security Bureau concludes that many of these documents were written for the purpose of cooperating with the FBI and other US intelligence agencies.

Some of the documents, in fact, are written in English with the notification: “SECRET, Not to be discussed with third countries.” Other documents include the English-language warning, "The information in this document is sensitive and meant for intelligence purposes of your government only."

These Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department documents were originally leaked onto the internet in October 2010, and the Japanese government finally admitted their authenticity in late December.

An article in yesterday's Sankei Shinbun indicates that Japanese investigators are now requesting international assistance—including from the United States—in tracking down the source of the leak. The documents themselves show that the FBI asked the Japanese police to interrogate resident Muslims about possible terrorist plots against the United States, and the American side even provided a list of questions that the Japanese police should ask.

The Metropolitan Police Department noted in its own Japanese-language assessment that the threat of terrorism from Muslims in Japan “should not be underestimated” because of their possible antagonism toward the SDF deployment to Iraq and support for the United States." Unquote.

In December a group of 13 Muslims in Japan has filed a suit against a publisher that released a book containing police documents on anti-terrorism activities that were leaked online, demanding the company halt the publication of the book and pay 42.9 million yen in damages.

The group filed the suit against Dai-San Shokan, a Tokyo-based publisher, and its president Akira Kitagawa with the Tokyo District Court on Dec. 24, claiming that the book contains information that infringes on their privacy.

According to the plaintiffs' lawyers, even though a provisional injunction against the publication and sale of the book has been ordered three times, the publisher continues to sell the book by blacking out part of the contents. The book carries Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) documents on counter-terrorism activities that were leaked onto the Internet.

The plaintiffs also filed a request with Tomiko Okazaki, chairman of the National Commission on Public Safety, for the protection of their safety now that their private information was publicized in the book, according to their lawyers. (Mainichi December 25th 2010)

Sources: Shingetsu News Agency, Reporter's notes.