Bill for “bloated police” to be submitted to the Diet: Don’t allow the expansion of wiretapping and the introduction of plea bargaining based on anonymous tips!

Japan’s major party coalition, consisting of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito representing a Buddhist sect Soka Gakkai, fraudulently won 326 seats in the lower house election held in December 2014, more than two thirds of all the seats. The election was called for by the Abe Administration, which is far-right, with an empty promise of “Abenomics” and in view of low voter turnout. The administration is forcibly going to construct a controversial new base at the Henoko district in Okinawa, restart the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kyushu despite a strong protest, and legislate to enable the right to collective self-defense. In addition, the administration and the Ministry of Justice aim at enacting laws to expand wiretapping and introduce plea bargaining based on anonymous tips in the coming Diet session. Last September, the Legislative Council of the ministry inquired the Justice Minister about the revision in laws for recording police investigations, expanding and streamlining wiretapping, and introducing plea bargaining. The Special Committee of the council was established in May 2011 following evidence tampering by the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office as a result of an inquiry about “visualization of interrogation”, which was made under the administration of the Democratic Party of Japan. (YAMAGUCHI Masanori)

* Cartoon: <http://18787.main.jp> Ichihanahana

盗聴拡大・密告取引導入を許すな！～通常国会に上程される「警察焼け太り」法案

アベノミクスという空手形と低投票率を見込んだ狡猾な師走解散・総選挙で、安倍晋三〈極右〉政権を支える自民・公明両党は、衆議院の３分の２を上回る３２６議席を掠め取った。この巨大与党を背景に安倍政権は２０１５年、辺野古の新基地建設、川内原発再稼働、集団的自衛権行使に向けた法整備などを強権的に進めようとしている。そんな中、安倍政権と法務官僚が１月下旬開会の通常国会で通過を狙っている悪法がある。盗聴拡大と密告取引の導入だ。昨年９月、法制審議会は裁判員裁判対象事件などでの取調べの録音・録画（可視化）、通信傍受（＝盗聴）の対象範囲拡大と手続きの簡素化、司法取引（＝密告取引）の導入などを柱とした法改正要綱を法相に答申した。この答申案をまとめた法制審特別部会は、厚労省事件での大阪地検の証拠改竄をきっかけに11年５月、民主党政権の江田五月法相(当時)が「取調べの可視化」について法制審に諮問し、設置された。（山口正紀）