Japan passes ‘defective’ new anti-terrorism legislation

Japan’s government has passed controversial legislation through parliament that will punish people who plot or prepare to commit terrorism and other crimes.

Prime minister Shinzo Abe dismissed concerns that the law on organised crime will give the police too much power and lead to more state snooping.

The law passed the Diet (parliament) in the early hours of Thursday morning after a raucous session that concluded with the government circumventing an Upper House committee vote.

The unusual tactic was condemned by opposition leader Renho of the Democratic Party, who called it the “ultimate form of (parliamentary) railroading.”

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Opposition politicians accused the government of trying to avoid scrutiny of the bill and its policies, amid allegations of influence peddling swirling around the prime minister.

A no-confidence motion against the Abe Cabinet was voted down on Thursday morning.

Civil liberties

Mr Abe says the law will bring Japan into line with a 17-year-old UN treaty on global organised crime and help thwart terrorist plots ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“It’s only three years until the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and so I’d like to ratify the treaty on organised crime as soon as possible so we can firmly co-operate with international society to prevent terrorism,” the prime minister said.

Critics say the legislation is part of a wider attempt by the Abe government to ramp up state powers and rein in civil liberties. Many of the 277 crimes cited in the legislation appear unrelated to terrorism or organised crime: among the offenses subject to punishment is mushroom picking in conservation forests, sit-in protests and poaching seafood.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations questioned the need for the law. A United Nations expert last month called the legislation “defective” and “overly broad”, and warned that it might “lead to undue restrictions to the rights to privacy and to freedom of expression.”

Muffle debate

Attempts to pass similar bills have all previously failed. But justice minister Katsutoshi Kaneda, who was accused by the opposition of trying to muffle debate on the law, said it had been tightened and the list of crimes whittled down to address concerns about its scope.

“The law is expressly limited to organised criminal groups, the applicable crimes are listed and clearly defined and it applies only once actual preparatory actions have taken place,” he said.

Japan’s militarist past, when the police and authorities had enormous powers to probe political groups and ideas considered harmful to public order, have made conspiracy legislation especially contentious.

Mr Abe’s Liberal Democrats (LDP) and like-minded parties control two-thirds of both houses, however, meaning the bill easily passed, by 165 votes for with 70 against.

The Abe government has faced repeated criticism of its illiberal tendencies. Last week, the UN’s special rapporteur for freedom of expression, David Kaye, said the independence of Japan’s media is under threat.

The government responded by condemning Mr Kaye’s report, saying it was based on “hearsay,” not fact.