Conspiracy Crime Passes

After prolonged mid-night maneuvers, House of Councillors passed the bill of revised Organized Crime Punishment Law, which included provisions for punishing conspiracy crime. Shinzo Abe administration took advantage of overwhelming majority in the Houses for reinforcing governmental power over freedom of thought. The leading parties and their minor supporters gave Abe a blank check without considering how the law would be affecting people’s lives. Monarchy dominates politics in Japan.

The opposite parties protested against the bill, arguing that the government would punish innocent people with suspect of plotting organized crime. Abe administration reiterated explanation that punishment on organized crime was needed for deterring terrorism especially for Tokyo Olympic 2020. However, the examples of organized crimes included minor illegal activities such as picking fungi in the forest or collecting soil, which could intentionally be recognized as accumulating financial resources for terrorism.

As reaching the end of current session of the Diet, which would be next Sunday, Abe administration gave up building consensus with the opposite parties and decided to use power of majority. It was possible to extend the session, if they had needed it. But, Abe did not like to do that, because the extension will give the opposite parties time for accusing Abe administration of concealing inappropriate relationship between Prime Minister and his friend, the president of an educational corporation called Kake Gakuen.

With unusually high obedience to Abe administration, the leading parties used a tricky procedure in the Diet. While a bill would thoroughly discussed in the committee before the showdown in Plenary Sittings, the leading parties passed the bill of conspiracy crime not with conclusion of Committee on Judicial Affairs but intermediate report of discussion. After receiving the intermediate report, House of Councillors passed the bill in the Plenary Sittings in Thursday Morning.

This unusual procedure in the Diet will be a bad precedent in terms of undermining check and balance between the powers of government. The leading parties allowed the government having a power to punish hidden thought of the individuals, abandoning opportunities to realize true intention of the government. “There is a tendency in Japan that the people hope surveillance or protection of the government,” told a Professor of Tokyo University of Science, Kang Sang-jung. “A concept that the people are the main actor of the state can never settle in Japan.” Just embarrassing.