“I can pay it back later…” A 35-year-old male Mie Prefecture employee was dismissed for misappropriating over 2 million yen from a business account

A 35-year-old male employee of Mie Prefecture was dismissed today for misappropriating over 2 million yen in public funds.

According to the prefecture:

• He worked in the Fire and Safety Division.
• Between April 2023 and March 2024, he withdrew 2.02 million yen in cash from an account used to manage expenses for a paramedic training seminar.
• The funds were used for personal purposes.

In April 2024, during a routine personnel change, the account was found to have zero balance, leading to the discovery of the misuse.

The employee admitted to the wrongdoing, reportedly saying:

As a result, he was dismissed for disciplinary reasons.