Japanese defense agency official suspected to leak submarine plans to China

Japanese police have raided the home of a former
technical official with the Defense Agency on suspicion
of stealing submarine documents for possible passage to
China, reports said Sunday.

The former official allegedly took out copies of
technical documents on Japanese submarines several times
without permission until he retired in March 2002, the
Yomiuri and other dailies said without naming sources.

Police declined to comment on the reports.

The former official, now 63, gave the copies to a
long-time acquaintance who ran a food import company
dealing with China, the reports said, adding police had
also searched the home of the acquaintance.

"As the acquaintance was known to have travelled to
China frequently, the public safety division (of police)
is cautiously investigating whether the documents have
been leaked to China," the Yomiuri said.