Full-fledged probe into boat collision video leakage launched

Prosecutors launched a full-fledged investigation Monday into the leaking of video footage of the September collisions between Japanese patrol boats and a Chinese trawler off the disputed Senkaku Islands.

‘‘It is a cybercrime, in a broad sense,’’ Mitsuhiro Katsumaru, public security department chief at the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, told a press conference. ‘‘It is desirable to immediately launch the investigation to get to the truth.’‘

The government, meanwhile, confirmed that the leaked video footage is identical to videos edited by the Japan Coast Guard’s Ishigaki office, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan making apologies at the House of Representative Budget Committee.

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