A staff member of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority lost an official smartphone likely at Shanghai airport during a private trip to China last November, potentially exposing sensitive information, Japanese media reported.
The employee traveled to China for personal reasons from November 1 to 3 and reported the phone missing on November 6. It contained personal details of officials handling classified nuclear facility anti-terrorism measures.
The authority has notified Japan's Personal Information Protection Commission, although no data leak has been confirmed yet. Opposition lawmakers have criticized the major oversight.
The phone was issued for emergency preparedness to staff responsible for nuclear accidents and major earthquakes after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Employees are warned not to take such phones abroad.
Political commentator Taizo Sugimura, a former lawmaker, questioned the three-day delay in reporting the loss and noted Shanghai airport's extensive surveillance, calling it puzzling that the phone remains missing.
