Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and other senior staff at the U.S. Embassy in Japan used personal email accounts to conduct official business, according to a report released by the State Department’s Office of Inspector General Tuesday.
According to the Associated Press, the OIG report said that it discovered instances during which emails labeled "sensitive but unclassified" were sent from or received by personal email accounts of senior staff members at the U.S. embassy.
Department policy generally discourages employees from using personal email accounts for official business, according to the report.
"Employees are also expected to use approved, secure methods to transmit sensitive but unclassified information when available and practical," the OIG document said.
OIG examined the embassy’s operations between January and March of this year, around the time news broke of former secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s exclusive use of a private email account to conduct official government business.
Secretary of State John Kerry has since requested that the State Department’s inspector general probe personal email use in the department, a review that is currently still ongoing.
An anonymous State Department official emphasized Tuesday that the U.S. embassy requires the use of official email accounts at all times possible.
"Ambassador Kennedy uses an official email address for official business," the official said. "As the report reflects, in the past, like others at the mission, Ambassador Kennedy infrequently used her personal email account for official business."
"This is allowed, so long as measures are taken to ensure that official records sent or received on personal email are preserved and other requirements are observed. The ambassador and embassy staff are implementing the OIG recommendations, including those regarding emails," the State official said.
Kennedy, daughter of late President John F. Kennedy, has served as ambassador to Japan since November 2013. She was nominated by President Obama to the post two years ago despite having no expertise in Japan.