Designated Secrets Disappear

Board of Oversight and Review of Specially Designated Secrets of each House of the Diet made the report on the national secrets, which had been registered in 2014, and submitted to each Speaker on Wednesday. Both boards did not judge whether the government was right or wrong in registering them. Designated Secrecy Act in 2013 proved to be allowing the executive branch exercising unlimited power on controlling information, which must primarily be belonging to the people.

Each board made research on 382 specially designated national secrets, which were registered by ten executive organizations, including Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Ministry of Defense, between December 10^th and 31^st in 2014. The board in House of Representative made 150 pages of report, while that in House of Councillors spent 60 pages.

In the interview of board members to the Ministries, bureaucrats mostly refused to reveal the details of specially designated secrets. On personal information about Mr. X, who was the North Korean liaison of secret negotiation over summit meeting between Prime Minister Jun-ichiro Koizumi and Kim Jong-il in 2002, bureaucrats did not reply to the question whether it would be a specially designated secret or not. They refused to answer about existence of secret document on the kidnapping of Japanese journalist by Islamic State in 2015 with reason of confidentiality of international relationship.

The board in House of Representatives requested improvement of disclosure, including detailed explanation about the list of specially designated secrets or disclosure of transcript of discussion in National Security Council. However, recommendation of the board does not have coercive power for disclosure. The board would be an organization for endorsing every secret the government holds.

There is another organization that oversees the registration of specially designated secrets. That is called Independent Archives Administrator in Cabinet Office. While the administrator has a power to request improvement in registration, Ministries can also refuse it. Although the administrator submitted ten-page report, it only reviewed 165 documents out of all 200 thousands.

In spite of inability to access national secrets, lawmakers in charge of oversight can be punished, if he or she leaked specially designated secret. Because leading party occupies majority of each board, the check cannot be completed against current administration. Against provision of Constitution of Japan that put the Diet on the top of triangle of the government, the executive branch gained exclusive power to control national information.