The Yomiuri Shimbun
The agriculture ministry will set
up an investigation team within the ministry to investigate the alleged leaking
of classified documents, following Wednesday's report by The Yomiuri Shimbun
that a Chinese diplomat may be responsible for the security breach.
Speaking to reporters at the ministry on
Wednesday, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Michihiko Kano
said: "As long as such a report was made, I believe it's important to
thoroughly investigate the case as a ministry. I told this to the team
members."
The leaked documents are believed to contain
information on a program for exporting agricultural products to China. The
Yomiuri Shimbun reported the 45-year-old first secretary at the Chinese Embassy
in Tokyo, who is suspected of espionage, was involved in the program organized
by the Promotion Association of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries & Foods
Exporting to China, a Tokyo-based incorporated body.
The diplomat, who also is suspected of
violating the Alien Registration Law, has already left Japan.
Senior Vice Minister Tsukasa Iwamoto will
lead the ministry's investigative team, whose members include several senior
officials, such as Parliamentary Secretary Tetsuo Morimoto and a vice minister,
Kano said.
The ministry's other senior vice minister,
Nobutaka Tsutsui, who led the program in question, was not included in the
team.
Asked about Tsutsui, Kano said, "I guess
we'll have to ask him [about the leak]."
In response to the ministry's move, Tsutsui
denied Wednesday that he showed or told the diplomat about the leaked
documents.
Speaking to reporters at the ministry, the
senior vice minister also said, "I never handed the documents [to the head
of the body operating the program]."
===
Exported items wasted
Under the export program, more than 3,000
items, mainly farm and marine products of Japan, were to be displayed for sale
in an exhibition facility in Beijing.
According to the association, the first group
of items, including 840 kilograms of rice, 88 kilograms, or 80 cans, of
powdered milk and 78 bottles of sake, was exported to China on Feb. 25.
Their registration was completed on Feb. 28
in Beijing, and the products were stored in a warehouse of a state-owned firm's
subsidiary, a partner under the export program.
Before February, rice exported to China from
Japan needed to undergo an insecticidal fumigation process, while exporting
dairy products, such as powdered milk, was banned.
However, Tsutsui, who was leading the
project, reportedly explained that part of these procedures, including the
fumigation, was to be waived by the Chinese side as a special measure to relax
quarantine regulations.
Referring to the first group of items,
Tsutsui said at a press conference in March: "Products that once needed to
undergo fumigation can now be exported [to China]. This is a big step
forward."
But following Tsutsui's announcement, China's
quarantine authority said it was unaware of the change in the regulations, and
used diplomatic channels to inquire about the matter, according to sources.
The state-owned company was then instructed
by the Chinese authority to discard the Japanese products. The firm complied
with this request, the sources said.
The association has been preparing for the
export of more than 2,000 farm and marine products after the first group was
sent in February.
However, as the first shipment ended in
failure, future exports, which would be carried out in the same method as the
first group, are unlikely be approved by the Chinese.
Since there are no exported items being
collected for display, the opening of the Beijing exhibition facility has
repeatedly been postponed, further highlighting the difficulties of continuing
the program.
Original Article Here
No comments:
Post a Comment