A former employee has been arrested on suspicion of unlawfully obtaining data, including machine design drawings, from his employer. According to media reports, the suspect allegedly copied and stored five data files—including design drawings for plastic product manufacturing machinery—onto a personal hard disk from the company where he had worked for approximately 16 years. It has also been confirmed that he had already acquired approximately 300,000 files, totaling around 270GB in data volume.
Subsequently, the suspect reportedly changed jobs to a company in the same industry in China, and the police are investigating the case on suspicion of violating Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act. This case is not merely an instance of internal misconduct; it highlights complex issues at the intersection of corporate trade secret management, data governance, and international labor mobility.
The Legal Framework: “Trade Secrets” Under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act
At the core of this case is the protection of “trade secrets” under Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act. For information to qualify for legal protection as a trade secret, it must generally satisfy the following three requirements:
- It must be managed as secret (secrecy management).
- It must be useful technical or business information for business activities (usefulness).
- It must not be publicly known (non-public nature).
Machine design drawings and specifications are typical examples of technical information that constitute a source of competitive advantage for a company. In particular, design information for manufacturing equipment represents a core asset that directly affects product quality and production efficiency, making it highly valuable to competitors.
If such information was appropriately managed as confidential, unauthorized copying and removal could constitute unlawful acquisition under the Act.
The Significance of “300,000 Files and 270GB”—Beyond the Initial Five Files
A particularly noteworthy aspect of the reports is not merely the five design files initially cited, but the confirmation that approximately 300,000 files totaling 270GB had already been obtained.
This scale suggests not an isolated file copy, but the possibility of systematic and continuous data accumulation. A volume of 300,000 files may include not only design drawings, but also related specifications, experimental data, parts lists, and potentially customer information.
The magnitude of the data does more than increase potential criminal liability; it exponentially expands the potential scale of corporate damage and the scope of impact.
Cross-Border Employment and the Risk of Trade Secret Leakage
After leaving the company, the suspect reportedly joined a Chinese firm in the same industry. This element significantly heightens the societal impact of the case.
In an era of globalization, international labor mobility is inevitable. There is nothing inherently problematic about skilled engineers moving to overseas companies. However, when trade secrets are taken along, the issue extends beyond individual misconduct and may escalate into a matter of economic security between nations.
Manufacturing technology and equipment design, in particular, underpin international competitiveness. Once core technologies are leaked, price competitiveness and market share may be directly affected.
Corporate Internal Controls and Data Governance Under Scrutiny
This case raises not only questions of individual criminal responsibility, but also issues concerning corporate internal controls.
To secure legal protection for trade secrets, companies must substantively ensure effective secrecy management. In practical terms, this requires multilayered measures such as:
- Strict access control settings
- Restrictions on exporting data to external storage media
- Log monitoring and anomaly detection systems
- Data removal checks at the time of employee departure
- Non-disclosure agreements and non-compete clauses
In recent years, with the spread of cloud storage and remote work, data exfiltration is no longer limited to physical hard disks. Strengthening governance requires a dual approach combining both technical safeguards and legal countermeasures.
Implications for Japan as a Technology-Driven Nation
For decades, Japan has maintained strong competitiveness in precision machinery and manufacturing equipment. The source of that strength lies in the accumulation of know-how and tacit knowledge built up over many years on the factory floor.
However, as digitalization advances, such know-how has become portable in the form of data. Technical information that was once embedded in physical production sites can now be transferred as hundreds of gigabytes of digital files.
This case symbolically illustrates that structural transformation.
Conclusion
At present, it remains unclear whether the information was actually leaked or used. Reports indicate that the suspect is refraining from making statements, and further developments in the investigation will be closely watched.
This case transcends the boundaries of a single company’s internal misconduct. It brings together multiple issues—trade secret management, cross-border labor mobility, and economic security.
For companies, it serves as a timely reminder to reassess their data governance frameworks. For society at large, it underscores once again that information itself is a strategic asset.