Photo/Illutration The central government building in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district that houses the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A Saitama prosecutor has been fired and fined for leaking an individual’s criminal record to a woman he was dating, the Saitama District Public Prosecutors Office said Dec. 26.

Takehito Anan, 35, charged with violating the National Public Service Law, was ordered to pay a 300,000-yen ($1,920) fine by the Saitama Summary Court.

The Justice Ministry and public prosecution authorities also dismissed Anan from his position, effective Dec. 26.

According to the Saitama District Public Prosecutors Office, the leak occurred around June 20, 2024, when Anan was working at the Numazu Branch of the Shizuoka District Public Prosecutors Office.

He obtained the criminal record of an individual from a work terminal and gave a piece of paper containing the details to the woman.

The woman, whom Anan had met through a match-making app, was apparently having trouble with the individual, according to sources. Anan had concealed his marriage to the woman.

The leak was discovered in late October following a tip from the woman, who had not asked Anan for the information, the sources said.

Anan admitted to the allegations, telling investigators, “I wanted her to think I was someone she could rely on.”

Hiroshi Yamamoto, deputy prosecutor general who is second-in-command at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, issued a notice to district prosecutors general on the “thorough maintenance of official discipline.”

“This situation of leaking prior conviction information, which requires strict management, greatly undermines the public’s trust in the prosecution regarding information management,” the notice said.

He added that private information that the prosecution uses “is premised on the public’s trust,” and he requested that staff be instructed on the matter once again.

Hideo Yamada, public prosecutor general of the Sendai District Public Prosecutors Office who held the same post at the Shizuoka office, and Kenshi Konagamitsu, deputy chief prosecutor of the Shizuoka office, received severe warnings over their supervisory responsibilities for Anan.

Anan was appointed a prosecutor in December 2017 and served at the Tokyo and Osaka offices. In April this year, he was transferred from the Numazu Branch to the Saitama office.