Video leak prompts criminal probe

TOKYO, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Criminal complaints have been filed in Japan over leaked video footage of the September collision between a Chinese trawler and two Japanese patrol vessels.

The incident occurred in disputed waters in the East China Sea.

The complaints set the stage for an investigation of allegations by the Japan Coast Guard that the leaked footage violated both the National Civil Service Law and a law prohibiting unauthorized computer access, The Yomiuri Shimbun reported Tuesday.

Japan Coast Guard Commandant Hisayasu Suzuki said the footage that appeared on YouTube is almost identical to the edited video submitted to prosecutors by the Ishigaki Coast Guard Office.

However, Suzuki and the chief of the Justice Ministry's Criminal Affairs Bureau told a meeting Monday it was highly unlikely the footage was leaked from the prosecutor's office.

Since the leak was discovered, officials have been unable to identify how it occurred, prompting the coast guard to file a criminal complaint.