A senior education ministry official has indicated that whistleblowers involved in the Kake Gakuen scandal could be punished for leaking internal information in violation of the National Public Service Law.
Hiroyuki Yoshiie, a state minister of education, made the remark on Tuesday in response to a question from Upper House member Yuko Mori, of the opposition Liberal Party.
During an Upper House session, Mori asked if the government will protect the whistleblowers that have cast light on alleged government favoritism shown to Kake Gakuen, the Okayama-based school operator chaired by a close friend of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.