English conversation school operator ECC Corp. probably purchased some of the customer information stolen from Benesse Corp. to send junk mail to high school students, sources close to the matter said Friday.
The government, meanwhile, said it had suspended its English-language ability test for high school students, which had been outsourced to Benesse, Japan's biggest provider of correspondence education courses for children. The firms is controlled by Benesse Holdings Inc.
"A personal information leak is intolerable. We will urge Benesse to carry out its business under strict information management," education minister Hakubun Shimomura told a press conference.