A Japanese nuclear safety official has lost a work-issued smartphone containing sensitive information during a personal trip to China, Japanese media has reported.
The phone reportedly held confidential contact details of staff involved in nuclear security at the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA). The agency could not confirm if the data was leaked, reports suggest.
The incident comes as Japan seeks to restart its nuclear energy program, which has been largely stalled since 2011.
Following the Fukushima disaster – a magnitude 9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that triggered a meltdown, the government ordered a shutdown of all nuclear reactors.
The NRA was established in the aftermath to oversee nuclear safety including the restarting of the country’s reactor.
The employee is believed to have lost the phone on November 3, while undergoing a security check at Shanghai airport.
He noticed the device was missing three days later and, despite contacting the airport, was unable to recover it.
NRA issues smartphones to certain staff members to ensure rapid response in emergencies, the Japanese news outlet reported.
The affected department handles the protection of nuclear materials against theft or terrorist threats, according to a Japanese news outlet.
Following the incident, the NRA reported it to Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission and cautioned employees against taking work phones overseas, local media said.
This is not the first time Japan’s nuclear sector has faced scrutiny over security lapses. In 2023, an employee at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant – the world’s largest- lost a stack of documents after leaving them on top of a car.
Another employee at the same plant was found to have mishandled confidential documents by making copies and locking them in a desk.
Earlier this week, Chubu Electric Power, operator of a central Japan nuclear plant, admitted to potentially using selective data during safety inspections.
The NRA has suspended the review for Chubu to restart its reactors, citing “fabrication of critical inspection data,” Reuters reported.
