Growing Power over Individual Rights

In the campaign for the election of the House of Councillors, oppressive examples over freedom of speech are reported. All cases are about criticisms against leading party or its policies. Liberal Democratic Party upholds constitutional amendment to strengthen governmental power on individual rights. Before the Constitution is amended, the government led by LDP seems to have started restraining human rights. Those may be considered as the signs of despotism.

Alongside the audience for kick-off speech of Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, in Fukushima city, four men seized a signboard possessed by a housewife, which read “Prime Minister, I have a question. Are you supportive or against dismantling nuclear reactors?” Those men surrounded the woman and one of them identified himself as a policeman. Another man, showing a name card of LDP staff, took the board away. “I was scared with their consistent demanding of my address. I thought I would be arrested,” told the woman to the interview of Tokyo Shimbun.

The same night, LDP announced that it reject all contact from Tokyo Broadcasting Service for reporting, disputing that TBS’s report about LDP few days before had been unfair. The barring out was lifted next day, after TBS submitted a paper regarding the significance of LDP’s appeal. While TBS did not admit its apology, Abe insisted that TBS had apologized in his speeches. It was not what a big leading party would do to one media organization, anyway.

One week after the campaign started, the Election Supervising Committee of Sapporo City, Hokkaido, warned the men of illegality. Those men were affiliated with Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA), the biggest pressure group of farmers, who had been disseminated brochures criticizing the government’s policy of joining the negotiation of Trans-Pacific Partnership. According to the Public Officers Election Act, political parties or organizations doing political activity are prohibited to circulate brochures in campaign period. But, some lawyers distinguish farmers’ organization from political entity. JA Hokkaido decided to refrain from disseminating their brochures before voting day.

Although those cases are not clearly violating freedom of speech guaranteed in the Constitution, it is clear that the government and the leading party is getting nervous about criticisms against them. The examples above indicate how post-election Japan will look like, in which LDP occupies overwhelming majority in both Houses. Like Germans who applauded economic growth in 1920-30s, the Japanese, enthusiastic about Abenomics, are not wiling to see negative aspects of this administration.