Reinforcing Sneak and Peek

A working team of Council on Legislation, a consultative organization of Minister of Justice, concluded discussion over the reform of law enforcement process on Thursday. While media focused on introduction of transparency in summoning, which would be obligation for police and prosecutors to record interview on suspects, a few stressed broadening object of eavesdropping. New policy will widen government’s intrusion into people’s communication, which the Constitution of Japan strictly prohibits, as a compensation for restrictions in criminal investigation.

The reform was initiated when arbitrary investigation of prosecutors, in which they sometimes fabricated confession of suspects, receiving strong criticism from the public in 2010. Transparency in interview was recognized as a fundamental prescription to prevent such illegal law enforcement to the citizen. Conclusion of the Council determined to introduce recording in interviews.

However, bureaucrats never release what they once obtained. With condition that the recording obligation would only be applied to the cases falling in category of citizen judge and to direct investigation by prosecutors, this measure for transparency will cover only 2% of all cases. Most criminal cases in police office will not be disclosed by the recording. The reason of reluctance of policemen was because recording might erode trust between police and suspects. Gee, were they investigating crimes based on benevolence of suspects?

Bureaucrats never keep themselves lost. While policemen and prosecutors released their privilege of secrecy, they got wide range of communication censoring. The Wiretapping Act of 2000 determined four categories, organized crime, gun crime, drug crime and collective smuggling, in which authorities could wiretap suspects’ communication. Now it will add nine kinds of crimes, including setting fire, murder, theft or fraud. With this deregulation, polices and prosecutors will be able to cast broad web on society. They may suspect everyone with suspicion of injuring someone, stealing something or deceiving someone.

One member of the Council raised an argument that wiretapping had to be limited to the cases with real needs. So law enforcement authority needs to submit evidence that the case is organizational. Crime investigation should not be a cause for the authority to enlarge control over ordinary citizens, the tendency which Abe administration has been exercising.