Case of Uttering Forged Official Documents with Seal

In early 2026, Yuji Maeda, a former employee of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, conspired with Lee Seung-min, a South Korean resident in Japan, to fabricate a sealed official document. The document bore a counterfeit Foreign Minister’s seal and purported to be a secret protocol to the 2015 Japan–South Korea agreement on comfort women, falsely detailing Korean concessions. They attempted to sell the forgery to a weekly magazine and submitted it in a related civil proceeding. Forensic analysis of the seal impression and paper aging exposed the forgery. Tokyo prosecutors indicted both men under Article 155 of the Penal Code for counterfeiting a sealed official document and exercising it. The investigation confirmed the document was produced using scanned historical seals and modern printing equipment, with the aim of influencing public opinion and legal disputes concerning bilateral history issues.

On 20 May 2026, the Tokyo District Court convicted Maeda and sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended for four years. Lee received one year and six months, suspended for three years. Both filed appeals, which remain pending as of mid-2026.

Whether the fabricated paper constituted a “sealed official document” within the meaning of the Penal Code, whether showing it to media and filing it in court qualified as “uttering,” and the standard for authenticating diplomatic instruments. The defense argued the work was a satirical prototype, not a genuine attempt to deceive.

The incident intensified public distrust between Japan and South Korea, generated sensationalist media coverage and fresh conspiracy theories about hidden diplomatic deals. The Japanese government tightened custody and verification procedures for ministry seals, while diplomats stressed the need to prevent forged materials from affecting ongoing bilateral talks. Legal experts debated whether Japan’s forgery law adequately addresses politically motivated document fabrication in the digital age.