TOKYO: The internal affairs ministry's top administrative official was replaced Friday for leaking penalty information to Japan Post Holdings Co., its minister said.

Vice Minister Shigeki Suzuki leaked the information to Yasuo Suzuki, senior executive vice president of the company and former vice minister of the ministry, internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi told a press conference.

The government plans to mete out administrative punishment to the Japan Post group for insurance sales irregularities by the end of this month.

"It is regrettable that the vice minister, the top administrative official, committed acts that have ruined the credibility of public service significantly," Takaichi said, apologizing.

The ministry punished the vice minister with a three-month suspension from work, during which no salaries are paid. He admitted to the leaks and submitted the resignation to Takaichi, who accepted it.

Takaichi said she will voluntarily return her pay for three months.

According to Takaichi, suspicion arose in mid-December that her discussions with senior officials about the planned penalty might have been leaked several times to Japan Post Holdings.

An internal investigation then found that the vice minister passed the information to the executive. The vice minister admitted to the leaks and apologized to Takaichi for causing trouble with his careless action.

Takaichi said the top administrative post will be taken up by Vice Minister for Policy Coordination Buichiro Kuroda, 59, effective the same day.

The Japan Post Holdings executive was a boss of the vice minister when they worked at the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry, a predecessor of the internal affairs ministry.

The day's development has laid bare the cozy relations between ministry officials and the Japan Post group, a key provider of "amakudari" jobs to retired ministry officials.

The Japan Post Holdings executive is suspected of applying pressure on Japan Broadcasting Corp., or NHK, over a program on the insurance sales irregularities. He denied the allegations, however.

The Japan Post group is under fire for improper sales practices for "Kampo" insurance products of subsidiary Japan Post Insurance Co.

On Wednesday, the group disclosed an investigative committee report that violations of internal rules or laws are suspected for nearly 13,000 insurance contracts.

Jiji Press