Source: World Wide Web
Kyodo News Agency reported on January 17 that the Ministry of Public Security of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department of Japan arrested Satoshi Sano (58 years old) on suspicion of leaking information about the performance of the E-2D early warning aircraft of the Air Self-Defense Force to trading company employees and violating the secret protection law attached to the Japan-U.S. Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement. This is allegedly the third case in which the Act has been applied.
Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono said: "This is a case that may damage the trust of the people and shake the trust relationship between Japan and the United States, and I deeply regret it. He indicated that no circumstances of flow to third countries had been identified. Japan Airlines chief of staff Maru Shigeru Yoshinori commented that "efforts will be made to prevent recurrence."
The Japanese side gave the reason for the arrest that Sugano was suspected of displaying the performance information of the U.S.-made E-2D early warning aircraft designated as a special defense secret at the Airborne Entry Base in Saitama Prefecture around January 9, 2013, when he was the head of the Research and Development Department of the Air-Self Aviation Development Experimental Group Command, and that the data was transcribed and handed over on USB. Kanno denied the suspects saying he had "not done it."
According to the Ministry of Public Security of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Kanno received intelligence from the U.S. government during his operations around 2010. Around July 2013, the trading company handed over information on E-2D AWACS aircraft stored in USB to employees of another U.S. aircraft manufacturer that was a competitor to the aircraft manufacturer. The U.S. government received reports from the manufacturer's employees and notified the Ministry of Defense in October 2014 that it was aware of the incident. There seems to be no money between Sugano and the trading company.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the E-2D early warning aircraft was selected from May to November 2014 and decided to purchase. During this period, Kanno was affiliated with a department unrelated to screening, and the Ministry of Defense did not consider the leak to affect the screening. Kanno retired in 2017 and is now an employee of an aircraft-related company unrelated to the case. On December 26 last year, the Ministry of Defense filed a criminal complaint against the Metropolitan Police Department.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Ministry of Public Security has conducted an interior search of several locations, including Kanno's residence. It is alleged that the trading company has admitted to the factual relationship but will not be charged under the provisions of the Act. Around the Secret Protection Act, in 2007 a maritime self-defense force third class Haizuo was arrested on suspicion of leaking core information on the Aegis destroyer.
It is reported that the E-2D early warning aircraft is produced by the Northrop Grumman Company of the United States, which is an improvement on the basis of the E-2C early warning aircraft, mainly upgrading the radar device and adding an aerial refueling device. The aircraft is equipped with the AN/APY-9 UHF band detection radar developed by Lockheed Martin, which has long-range early warning capabilities in various terrain environments. The E-2D early warning aircraft is also the most advanced carrier-based early warning aircraft in the United States and the central node of the U.S. Navy's maritime kill chain.