Lawyers petition lawmakers to foil contingency bills

"The need for Japan's Diet is to get the contingency bills abolished in its current session," stated democratic lawyers in a petition drive to House of Representatives members from respective parties.

Representatives of the Japan Lawyers Association for Freedom (1,570 members; about ten percent of all lawyers in Japan) on April 2 petitioned members of the Lower House Special Committee on Emergency Legislation.

The lawyers stressed that it is quite unjustifiable to bulldoze the war bills through the Diet at a time when the overwhelming majority of people are opposing the U.S. war on Iraq.

In a meeting prior to the petitioning, Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Kijima Hajime (Lower House) pointed out that the government parties are resolved to railroad through the bills through both houses. Democratic forces are expected to rise in urgent actions in and out of the Diet to foil the attempt to pass the contingency bills, he said. (end)