Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Carrier Convicted Until Woman Receives Suspicious Call "I Saw the Bulletin Board"

The Tokyo District Court handed down a verdict against a male defendant (53), a career bureaucrat at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, who was charged with defamation for pretending to be a female acquaintance and sending an email containing false sexual preferences to a third party. Judge Yuichi Tada sentenced him to one year of imprisonment, suspended for three years (required imprisonment for one year and six months).

The judgment is dated November 6th. According to the ruling, between March and May 2026, the defendant impersonated a woman and posted on a bulletin board dealing with sexual content, along with her email address. He defamed the woman's reputation by sending 147 replies to third parties who saw the post and sent emails, including the woman's name, photo, and phone number, as well as false sexual preferences such as, ``I want to be violently attacked.''

As a result, women suddenly started receiving phone calls and texts from people they didn't know. The woman reportedly suffered psychological distress and began going to the hospital.

The trigger was ``unexpected personnel changes.''

According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the defendant joined the then Ministry of International Trade and Industry as a career bureaucrat in 1996. He has had experience in various departments for about 30 years, including being seconded to Wakayama Prefecture.

A male employee in his 40s who was the defendant's junior colleague at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in an interview, ``He was sometimes harsh on his subordinates and colleagues, but he was very aggressive in his work and was good at winning over the hearts of small and medium-sized business owners.I hope he somehow recovers.''

Why did the defendant harass the woman to such an extent that it threatened her life? At trial, it became clear how the defendant unilaterally aroused suspicions leading to the incident.

The defendant was with the victim in the summer of 25...