Discussion over creating crime of
conspiracy, with which the government would punish the people before committing
an actual crime, started in the Diet on Wednesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
stressed the necessity of the law for preemptive deterrence of terrorism. The
opposite parties insisted that terrorism could be prevented without creating
crime of conspiracy, which would infringe freedom of thought. However, the
discussion did not work for better understandings for the people.
The bill is for revised Organized Crime
Punishment Law, which is basically designed to arrest terrorist groups before
committing actual terrorism. Although the government has tried to pass the bill
for three times after Japan signed United Nations Convention on Transnational
Organized Crime in 2000, it was dismissed with firm concern on arbitral
application of the crime to the people. Japanese bureaucracy always wants to
extend its arbitral power over democracy.
Abe administration keeps on attempting to
persuade the public that crime of conspiracy is indispensable for Tokyo Olympic
in 2020 to be successful. “Setting anti-terrorist measures is urgent issue for
Japan to have Tokyo Olympic 2020. The revised law will work for preventing
serious crime before it happens,” told Abe in the Committee on Judicial Affairs
of House of Representatives.
To the question concerning arbitrary
arresting by police or other organization for law enforcement, Abe insisted
that the investigation would be appropriately exercised according to the law
and no ordinary people could not be targeted. Abe’s argument made no sense,
anyhow. The law can arrest innocent people, even when it is appropriately
interpreted. Abe does not say that the government never arrests innocent
people, but that innocent people “cannot be” arrested. While such a thing would
not theoretically happen, it may happen with unexpected reason.
The law includes illegal theft in
government-owned forest as crime of conspiracy. A lawmaker with Democratic
Party, Shiori Yamao, asked why stealing of sea products would not be punished,
if theft of mushroom in the forest would be a crime of conspiracy. The answer
of an officer with Ministry of Justice was that they chose possible crimes of a
criminal organization. Why would a criminal organization never commit a theft
of sea products like oyster or urchin?
The opposite parties demand Abe administration
abandoning the bill. If the bill passes, everyone will possibly be regarded as a
terrorist, if he or she looks like committing indefinable organized crime. This
anti-democratic administration encourages state power to extend its arbitrariness
into private lives of the people.
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