A Japanese government official who was considered to be the source of information about the sale of weapons equipment by China to North Korea was found hanged in his Chiba Prefecture home on June 20th. The 47 year old government employee worked for the Foreign Ministry, and was tasked with gathering information about weapons sales and terrorism. The details that were “leaked” pertained to the revelation that China had violated U.N. sanctions by selling missile transport vehicles to North Korea, which in turn were used as part of the isolated country’s missile launch on April 13th.
The deceased official was being investigated for the public release of highly sensitive information. The only thing the police have said is that his death did not appear to be suspicious, but would not elaborate any further. Another official at the Foreign Ministry spoke on the condition of anonymity, and said that it was still unclear if there was a connection between the death and information leak.
Working at the Foreign Ministry since April of 2011, the official was on loan from the Japanese Coast Guard. Ryuji Yamane, the Senior Vice Foreign Minister, commented to the press on Monday that no official conclusions had been reached, but prior to his death, there were no plans to punish him.
[Via Jakarta Globe]