Japan's Supreme Court has briefed the father of a victim of the 1997 serial killings in western Japan regarding its report on a series of disposals of high-profile trial records.

Last week, the Supreme Court released the results of a probe conducted after it came to light that certain records of juvenile and civil trials had been discarded at local courts nationwide. The records of the case of serial murders committed by a teenager in Kobe City were among those lost.

On Friday, the father of Hase Jun, one of the victims, received a briefing from Supreme Court officials regarding the report.

After the briefing, Hase Mamoru told reporters that the officials had apologized for the loss of materials possessing substantial historical and social importance.

The probe revealed that senior officials at a Kobe court responsible for handling the case failed to provide clear instructions on the disposal of related records, despite being consulted by staff members.

Hase said every court official should have considered the importance of the trial records.

He added that he urged the Supreme Court officials to preserve trial records in digital formats and consider using them in preventing similar incidents and supporting crime victims.

Hase said the records of the Kobe murder case served as evidence of his son's life and held historical and social value.

He said he hopes the court will continue to investigate the significance of preserving such records and determine the appropriate methods of doing so.