Oct 15 05:15 AM US/Eastern(AP) - TOKYO, Oct. 15 (Kyodo) — Public prosecutors decided Wednesday not to indict an Air Self-Defense Force former colonel who was suspected of leaking confidential information about a Chinese submarine to a reporter in according to the prosecutors.
They said they have reached the decision taking into consideration the situation that Hideki Kitazumi, 50, was dismissed by the Defense Ministry on Oct. 2 and that he has shown remorse.
The Self-Defense Forces police in March sent papers to the prosecutors on Kitazumi on suspicion of leaking the information to a reporter for the major daily Yomiuri Shimbun on May 30, 2005, when he was a section chief at the ministry's Defense Intelligence Headquarters despite knowing it was what is defined as a "defense secret."
The information in question concerned a Chinese submarine which was in difficulty in the South China Sea due to a fire aboard in May 2005. The leak resulted in an article in the newspaper's May 31, 2005, morning editions.
It was the first time a case has been established against a Self Defense-Forces member for allegedly leaking a defense secret to a reporter.
A criminal case was not established against the Yomiuri reporter.
Experts, however, say the move could affect the freedom of the press and the public's right to know.
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