JCG officer 'mailed Senkaku video to CNN'

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Japan Coast Guard officer who leaked the Senkaku collision video to the Internet told investigators he mailed the footage to CNN's Tokyo office before posting it on YouTube, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The 42-year-old navigator of the Kobe Coast Guard Office said he decided to post the footage online because CNN did not broadcast it, according to sources close to the investigation.

He revealed this during voluntary questioning by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.

The interrogation was held after he told his supervisor on Nov. 10 he was behind the Nov. 4 leak.

Investigative authorities believe this act reflects his determination to make the video public, and are currently trying to confirm his statement, the sources said.

The navigator told investigators he mailed an SD memory card containing the footage to the CNN Tokyo bureau in late October or early November.

He reportedly did not include a return address or any note explaining the content of the video. A CNN Tokyo spokesman said they had no comment on the case.

The footage shows the Chinese trawler ramming two JCG patrol boats on Sept. 7 near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The incident and its aftermath, including the arrest and detention of the Chinese ship's captain, has strained relations between Japan and China.

The Senkakus are administered by Japan, but claimed by China.