Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi voiced regret Monday over the "confusion" the Defense Agency caused by initially withholding the full report of an in-house probe into a scandal involving background checks on people seeking information.

"It is extremely regrettable that it caused unnecessary confusion. We would like to receive serious criticism and aim at recovering trust," Koizumi told a House of Representatives special committee dealing with a package of bills aimed at establishing a legal framework to govern the nation's response to a military attack.

The Defense Agency was harshly criticized after officials released a four-page summary, allegedly to try to suppress the full 38-page report of the scandal, which involved agency officials keeping records on people who made information disclosure requests under the freedom of information law