On September 9, Sumitomo Life Insurance disclosed that 13 of its employees had unauthorized access to and extracted 780 pieces of internal information from eight financial institutions where they were temporarily assigned. While some of this information was shared with responsible executives, the company denied any systematic directives or misuse of the information for profit. The firm expressed its deep apologies for causing significant inconvenience due to this breach.

The internal investigation was prompted in response to a similar incident reported by Nippon Life Insurance in July 2025. Sumitomo Life conducted the investigation between April 2022 and October 2025, focusing on 115 employees who had been seconded. The findings revealed that these 13 employees had taken documents that included sales performance of insurance products and information from other life insurance companies, and shared them with executives and staff back at headquarters.

The method of extraction involved the use of personal smartphones to photograph or otherwise obtain sensitive materials, indicating a serious breach of internal protocols. The company faced criticism for not adequately controlling the flow of sensitive information from its members assigned to external institutions, raising questions about the effectiveness of its data handling policies and the training provided to employees in safeguarding confidential information.