Tokyo Bar Association criticizes Supreme Court decision over the right to distribute flyers

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Tokyo Bar Association criticizes Supreme Court decision over the right to distribute flyers

The Tokyo Bar Association on December 1 issued a statement by its chair Yamagishi Kenji, criticizing the Supreme Court for its decision that distributing political flyers to a condominium complex is a crime.

In December 2004, Arakawa Yosei, a Buddhist, was arrested while posting Japanese Communist Party fliers in the mailboxes at a condominium in Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward. He was detained for 23 days and was then indicted.

The Supreme Court on November 30 upheld the high court decision that convicted Arakawa for “trespassing”.

The Bar Association’s statement reads, “Distribution of fliers constitutes an essential right of citizens to express their opinions, and if police, prosecutors and the courts restrict that right, it threatens the freedom of expression, the core of democracy.”

The statement includes the following recommendation to the Japanese government made in October 2008 by the United Nations Human Rights Committee:

“The Committee is concerned about unreasonable restrictions placed on freedom of expression and on the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, such as the prohibition of door-to-door canvassing, as well as restrictions on the number and type of written materials that may be distributed during pre-election campaigns, under the Public Offices Election Law. It is also concerned about reports that political activists and public employees have been arrested and indicted under laws on trespassing or under the National Civil Service Law for distributing leaflets with content critical of the government to private mailboxes.”

The Tokyo Bar Association statement points out that the U.N. committee recommended to the Japanese government that “any unreasonable restrictions on the freedom of expression” should be repealed.

It states that the Supreme Court decision came even as the Japanese government was facing international criticism regarding its failure to protect the right to freedom of expression.

The Tokyo Bar Association demands that the Supreme Court promptly and properly deal with this issue in accordance with the internationally recognized right to distribute flyers.

- Akahata, December 4, 2009