An in-house investigation by the Defense Agency has confirmed that the agency kept tabs on people who had requested information from it under the Freedom-of-Information Law. According to a fact-finding report released Tuesday, background lists were maintained by the agency's internal bureaus and all three armed services.
While the list held by the Maritime Self-Defense Force was prepared personally by an information officer, the other lists were compiled officially as part of information-disclosure activity. The report says the MSDF list -- which included footnote entries on information seekers' political orientation -- violated privacy legislation but that the other lists were legal.
There is no denying, however, that the compilation of background lists is an abuse of the disclosure system and a breach of public trust. The report effectively acknowledges that background information was collected more or less systemically by the civilian and military branches of the Defense Agency.