The names of the 11 members of a prosecution inquest panel in the city of Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture, have been leaked, it was learned.

Sources in the Yamaguchi District Public Prosecutor¡¯s Office said Thursday that a document containing the names of the panel members was mistakenly sent to a petitioner.

The prosecutor¡¯s office has not announced the matter or collected the document although the names of prosecution inquest panel members should remain confidential.

According to the prosecutor¡¯s office and other sources, a party asked the Iwakuni inquest panel for an examination of a decision against indictment made the prosecutor¡¯s office¡¯s Iwakuni branch in a case.

After the panel voted to approve the decision against indictment, the party filed criminal complaints against the 11 panel members on suspicion of abusing public officials¡¯ authority while their names were unknown.

The Iwakuni branch of the prosecutor¡¯s office decided not to indict the 11 members in January and sent the party a document showing reasons for the decision without deleting their names from the paper.

The prosecutor¡¯s office became aware of the leak and apologized in March to the 11 individuals who served as members of the inquest panel.

A prosecution inquest panel comprises 11 members selected by lot from eligible voters and examines whether prosecutors¡¯ decisions against indictment were appropriate.

The panel¡¯s proceedings are closed to the public, and documents on its decisions do not include the names of the panel members.

Shinnosuke Oki, deputy chief of the Yamaguchi prosecutor¡¯s office, said Thursday that the Iwakuni branch¡¯s handling of the case was ¡°inappropriate in light of the aim of the prosecution inquest panel system.¡±

¡°There was a lack of consideration for the principle that the names of inquest panel members should not be disclosed under the system,¡± he said.