Japanese government seeks to reassure public over pension data leak

DAMAGE CONTROL: Japan Pension Service head Toichiro Mizushima (right) at a press conference announcing the hack at the Welfare Ministry in Tokyo. Abe's government sought to assure the Japanese public their pensions were not at risk after the big data leak.

TOKYO: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government sought to assure the Japanese public their pensions were not at risk after a big data leak, an incident with echoes of a scandal that helped oust Abe during his first term in office. 

The leak, underscoring what critics have long charged is Japan's vulnerability to cyberattacks, coincide with Abe's push to legislate a big shift from post-war pacifism, keep a nascent recovery on track and craft plans to rein in public debt.