As many people know, after-work drinks can occasionally get embarrassingly out of hand. But for two government employees in Japan, a night on the tiles resulted in the loss of files containing information about an ongoing drug-smuggling investigation. Booze-fuelled blunders involving delicate personal data have sparked debate in Japan over alcohol's place in its work culture, as well as the country's stubbornly analogue bureaucracy.
'Astonishing blunder' During a night out with colleagues this month, a Japanese finance ministry employee drank nine glasses of beer over a five-hour session and then lost a bag containing the personal data of people suspected of drug smuggling. The lost files included the names and addresses of 187 suspected drug smugglers and recipients of cannabis seeds. The bag also contained business laptops.
It may sound like an "astonishing blunder", said CNN , but it's "not the first time something like this has happened". In 2022, another government employee lost a USB flash drive containing the personal details of every resident of the city of Amagasaki after boozing with colleagues and then falling asleep on the street. When he woke up, the bag containing the flash drive had vanished.
The drive held the names, dates of birth and addresses of more than 450,000 people and sensitive information including tax details, bank account numbers and those households receiving childcare payments and other public assistance. Police officers were able to retrieve the.
