Major travel agency Kinki Nippon Tourist Co. was involved in a scheme last year in which it issued cut-rate airline tickets to JET teachers, billed local governments for regular fares and pocketed the difference, it was learned Thursday.

A similar scheme was discovered at the nation's largest travel agency, JTB Corp., which reprimanded the employees involved.

Most people in the Japan Exchange and Teaching program come to the country to teach foreign languages, although some teach sports and some assist local governments with a variety of assignments dealing with international relations.