IMABARI, Ehime -- The city government here leaked information on domestic violence victims, including their addresses, to perpetrators in two cases in 2024, leading to home visits by the abusers, it announced March 19.

Municipalities have support measures in place to restrict the issuance of copies of resident records among other documents to perpetrators when there is a risk of harm from spousal violence or child abuse.

According to the Imabari Municipal Government in Ehime Prefecture, the mistake occurred because an employee at the citizens division failed to communicate with the person in charge of managing the family register. As a result, the support measures were not reflected in the family register management system, leading to the issuance of copies of supplementary family register records to two perpetrators in May and October last year, respectively. This caused both perpetrators to visit the victims' homes.

A city official explained, "No trouble from the visits has been confirmed." Since becoming aware of the situation in October, the city government has apparently revised its procedures to ensure that two or more employees responsible for the family register and the basic resident register use a checklist for those who are eligible for support measures.

In January, the city took disciplinary action against the worker who failed to communicate over the two mishandling cases last year.

(Japanese original by Nobuto Matsukura, Imabari Local Bureau)