Overview
- Osaka Prefectural Police dismissed a 56-year-old assistant inspector at Habikino Station over leaks of privileged information, and issued admonitions to 27 supervisors for oversight failures.
- Investigators disclosed 289 unauthorized information queries to banks and other entities by the officer, with 26 instances formally pursued as criminal cases.
- The leak case involved a retired police officer working as an administrative scrivener who allegedly solicited the insider data, with arrests made in October 2025 and subsequent indictments.
- Japan Volleyball Association president Shunichi Kawai apologized after staff submitted a false statement during an overseas-born athlete’s 2024 nationality process, and a third-party committee will investigate.
- Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno pledged financial backing to stabilize doctor-helicopter operations, as the ministry reported 345 days of planned groundings from July 2025 to February 2026 due largely to mechanic shortages.