The Social Insurance Agency on Friday revealed the outlines of nine pension fraud cases for which agency employees were found responsible and that it had previously refused to disclose to the public.
In the past five years, nine officials at the agency's offices swindled a total of 35 million yen in pension fund money, the agency said, releasing for the first time the names of offices and titles of officials involved for the first time.
The agency took the step Friday in response to a recommendation by the National Personnel Authority that the cases be made public. The officials' names have been withheld to protect their privacy.
In January, the insurance agency, which is under the jurisdiction of the Health and Welfare Ministry, announced that nine officials had committed fraud by manipulating computer data over the past five years.
But the agency refused to give details, saying the officials have already been punished by being fired and being forced to pay back the money they swindled.