A Japanese finance ministry worker on an evening out with colleagues misplaced paperwork containing the private information of 187 individuals suspected of drug smuggling, native media say.
The worker, who has not been named, reportedly drank 9 glasses of beer throughout a five-hour-long night time out with co-workers in Yokohama on 6 February.
Native media stated that he didn’t realise he had misplaced his bag till after he acquired off his prepare trip residence in one other metropolis, Sumida.
The finance ministry has stated it was “deeply sorry” for the incident that “considerably undermined public belief”, in accordance with public broadcaster NHK.
The bag had contained paperwork which had the names and addresses of 187 suspected drug smugglers and recipients of marijuana seeds, the ministry stated.
It had additionally contained enterprise laptops with the worker’s private information.
The worker, who’s assigned to the customs and tariff bureau, was not named within the NHK report.
The BBC has reached out to the finance ministry for touch upon Tuesday, a public vacation in Japan.
Alcohol has lengthy been seen as a social lubricant for 1000’s of years in Japan, the place enterprise offers and troublesome points are mentioned over bottles of beer and sake.
It’s believed that consuming alcohol creates a extra relaxed atmosphere for such discussions.