U.S. intelligence included in state secrets leaked by MSDF captain

If you asked me the retired Admiral should be in jail right now. He is the one who demanded the information from his cohei(junior). And while he stated he didn't ask for classified information, he had to know that this unit's intelligence was completely classified and he used his position of authority to get it. And for what? That is what should be investigated. Yes the captain was wrong, but the sempai/kohei relationship is extremely strong, especially in the military, and you don't want to refuse an elder!

The ministry said the former admiral requested an MSDF unit in charge of collecting and analyzing information in January 2020 to brief him about the latest state of security affairs but had not demanded that classified information be disclosed.

Why? And why would he have "demanded" and gotten anything? There is a lot missing here and it would behoove the writer to include why he was getting briefed, and for what purposes.

There is more to it!

Exactly what MarkX said. The senpai/kohai relationships in Japan can be problematic when sensitive information is involved.

So why would a former Admiral have any right to request a briefing?

If you asked me the retired Admiral should be in jail right now. He is the one who demanded the information from his cohei(junior). And while he stated he didn't ask for classified information, he had to know that this unit's intelligence was completely classified and he used his position of authority to get it.

It is not generally true that every bit of information such a unit has is classified. It is actually routine to put together unclassified briefs depending on the intended audience. For another audience the briefing might be classified and require a briefing room certified for the level of classification involved.

So why would a former Admiral have any right to request a briefing?

In a previous article it was mentioned the retired Admiral speaks to groups in public on a regular basis. He could be explaining the JSDF and Japanese defense policy to the public seeking their support not so differently than a former university president or renown emeritus professor might speak in public to gain support for their university.

 He is the one who demanded the information from his cohei(junior)

The Admiral asked for a briefing on the current security situation for a speaking engagement. He didn't demand to know classified information. So far from the articles I have read it does not appear the Admiral used any of the information in a public forum and he didn't pass it along to a foreign government. The spillage stopped with him. The mistakes are really on the part of the Captain and whomever put the briefing materials together for not ensuring everything presented was unclassified and cleared for public release. For all we know the Admiral saw the material, realized it was classified and said something to the JSDF.

People in responsible positions act funny when classified material is involved. I saw a trusted co worker open an unclassified e-mail from his higher ups, realize something in it was very classified, and did as the rule book says and reported it to security. In the end it was my friend who was charged with the spillage, never mind all my friend did was open an e-mail sent to him by somebody else up the chain of command. I want to see more information before calling for the Admiral to swing from the yardarm or walk the plank.

I want to see more information before calling for the Admiral to swing from the yardarm or walk the plank.

that exactly what he was doing. Do you really wanna see more information?

I'd figure! All this new about the information leak was about US! Of course they don't want their involvement in shady doing leaked to the world!

This retired Admiral gets paid for these speaking engagements. He may even kick something back to his kohai. If he does not appear to be informed then the gravy train ends. Therefore, he wanted to know current information on the topic.

Regardless, unless the information is publicly available to everyone after being thoroughly vetted, the admiral should not be receiving current military information classified or not to be used specifically for financial gain.

Military information is fluid and can be classified one minute, unclassified the next and vis versa!

You easily make a GPS map of a Japanese military installation,using GPS Coordinates,their is no legal repercussion for a foreigner online

The classified information itself probably is not too important and its being compromised won't be immediately critical to national security for either Japan or the U.S. However, depending on the nature of the classified information, an enemy may be able to gain sensitive and valuable information on the collection method (HUMINT, GEOINT, SIGINT, MASINT, etc.) of the information and our intelligence gathering capabilities. That's usually the more serious concern when classified information is leaked, spilled, or unintentionally disclosed like this by a trusted ally.

that exactly what he was doing. Do you really wanna see more information?

From what I have read the Admiral wasn't doing anything illegal or unethical. Giving talks to the public is a good thing for retired senior officers to do. Asking for current information from reliable sources in government isn't a bad idea either and isn't illegal to my knowledge. Another article in J-T mentions the Captain in this case being arrested and fired from the JMSDF, the Admiral said he had no idea there was classified info in the brief given him but a "whistleblower" alerted authorities. It looks to me like the US side is calling out the Japanese for passing along classified information apparently not realizing it was classified. The Admiral is basically a caught in the ammonia spray of a pissing contest between the US and Japanese military authorities over what is classified and what isn't with the Japanese realizing their mistake but too late.

Admiral is basically a caught in the ammonia spray of a pissing contest between the US and Japanese military authorities 

I don't know if this is what actually happened, but it's a pretty good description!

The US and Japan better get their rules straight because there's going to be a lot more joint work in the coming years.

Obiadi,the military do not control American lives, American will moving away from Japan policy wise, because the future of America will be controlled by minorities,that do not relate to Japan concern

The US and Japan better get their rules straight because there's going to be a lot more joint work in the coming years.

I think some of the confusion may be coming from the US who seem to often change their classification guidelines in many areas. I have seen books on Cold War era events written by people who had direct hands on with the formerly secret matters covered in the books and who would have had to have their books cleared by certain US agencies before being published to ensure nothing that is still classified was released edited in later editions to delete important details printed in the same book's first edition. Just in my own time on active duty I was given some information on a weapon and told it was classified. But lo, I find a big tabletop book in a used book store printed several years before my brief on that weapon in a chapter describing the same weapon that had the very same details we were told were classified. There it was and anyone could read and know this information! But a few years later the same details are classified. Or, maybe they weren't but our briefer was misinformed? I'll never know. It is head spinning to me how the US often classifies formerly unclassified information or at least manages to create confusion regarding what is and isn't classified. I am not sure that is what happened here but it would not surprise me. Did the US give the Japanese the same classification briefs they gave their own people? Good question that needs to be asked.