The Kyodo News agency of Japan provided details on the 28^th August 2007 of a recent incident involving the leak of highly-guarded US military information. In the subsequent inquiry, the agency reported, the homes of a number of people employed by the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF), together with a destroyer, were searched. Currently, the investigation involves members of the Kanagawa police unit and the JMSDF working in tandem in order to establish how the data involved was obtained.

The data itself relates to a number of US projects, including the missile defence system 'Aegis', the maritime Standard Missile-3 and Link 16 - a platform to provide data exchange via satellite. The Aegis factor was initially identified earlier this year, when the police were carrying out a separate investigation. Among the details they uncovered, while trying to verify the identity of a suspected Chinese immigrant, were the Aegis' transmission and radar frequencies. Given that the individual in question had no authority to hold this level of information, so the investigation commenced.

To clarify, the data was found on the computer of a serving officer with the JMSDF, while the person being assessed in respect of immigration laws was his wife.

As per another media source within Japan, it soon came to light that the officer obtained this data while trading material of a pornographic nature with a colleague.

As a country with close national ties with the US - especially military - the whole situation has shamed Japan. Whilst visiting his American equivalent earlier on in 2006, the Defense Minister brought the issue up - apologising for the situation. Added to this, in June, the Commander of US forces in Japan - Lieutenant General Bruce Wright - described the data leak as "a very serious security problem".

The timing of the incident is extremely unfortunate, given Japan's current interest in America's F/A22 Raptor combat jet. Pending a possible future purchase, the far east nation has requested that Washington provide it with in-depth technical information - a request so far denied.

The security employed across the network of military and governmental organisations in Japan has come under scrutiny over the past 12 months. In particular, the fast-paced distribution of viruses across file-sharing networks is representative of how prevalent the use of such file sharing software on company PCs actually is. These viruses have resulted in confidential data leaking out onto the internet.

Source - Security International's Far East Correspondent