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Tokyo (AFP) Nov 10, 2010 A Japanese coastguard employee admitted leaking a video showing a high-seas collision near disputed islands that sparked a row with China, officials said Wednesday. The admission came after Japanese prosecutors seized user records from the video sharing site YouTube after the leaked footage was uploaded on to it in a move that risked inflaming the already bitter feud between the two nations. A patrol boat crewmember with the coastguard's district No. 5 headquarters in Kobe on Wednesday confessed to leaking the video, Coastguard commandant Hisayasu Suzuki told parliament. Tokyo has confirmed the authenticity of the video clips that appeared on YouTube showing a Chinese fishing trawler colliding with two Japanese coastguard vessels in the East China Sea in early September. The collision took place near the disputed but uninhabited chain of islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Japan's arrest of the Chinese trawler captain sparked a barrage of protests from Beijing that continued after Japan released him, sending diplomatic relations plunging to their lowest point in years. The footage was taken by the Japanese coastguard during the incident and not released to the public for fear of heightening tensions. But it was available on YouTube Friday before being removed and has been widely shown by Japanese television. The coastguard employee arrived in Kobe port earlier Wednesday and will be questioned on suspicion of breaking the national public service act, officials said. The law requires government employees to keep confidential information they obtain through their work. "Leaking of official investigation documents is clearly a crime. I think the situation is grave," said Japan's top government spokesman Yoshito Sengoku. "Agencies with enforcement authority should bear heavy responsibility in exchange for their power." A coastguard spokeswoman declined to comment when contacted by AFP. Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Monday apologised in parliament. "I obviously share the ultimate responsibility of the insufficient control" in keeping the video secure, he told lawmakers. The leak followed the illicit publication online last week of classified anti-terrorism documents that sparked criticism as Japan prepares to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. The YouTube videos came as Asia's two biggest economies are seeking to repair ties after their prime ministers, Kan and Wen Jiabao, failed at two recent summits in Brussels and Hanoi to hold formal talks. "It is impossible to forecast what impact this might have," said Sengoku in response to a question from reporters on the possible diplomatic effect of the video. World leaders, including Japan's and China's, will meet this week for a G20 summit in South Korea and then the APEC summit in Yokohama, near Tokyo. mis-dwa-si-hih/apj
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Tokyo seizes Google user records over video leak: reportsTokyo (AFP) Nov 9, 2010 Japanese prosecutors on Tuesday seized user records from Google in an investigation into the leak of a video on YouTube showing a tense maritime incident that sparked a row with China, reports said. The move, reported by the public broadcaster NHK and other Japanese media, came after the government confirmed the authenticity of the film showing a Chinese fishing trawler colliding with two Ja ... read more |
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