Japan Press Weekly

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2020 June 10 - 16 [POLITICS]

Japan Bar Association demands that anti-coronavirus expert panel take minutes of meetings

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations on June 11 released a statement in the name of JFBA President Ara Tadashi, calling for the taking of the minutes of the meetings of an expert conference for measures against the new coronavirus.

The panel of experts has not taken the minutes of meetings so far and published only "an outline of the talks" without specifying who said what.

According to the JFBA, the government regards experts' panels as its advisory committees. The government guidelines on the management of administrative documents stipulate that advisory committees must "prepare a record of the proceedings of meetings and of speakers and their statements", irrespective of whether the meetings are held in ordinary times or during emergency situations.

The JFBA statement states that in all meetings of experts' panels, the minutes showing who says what should be taken so that the decision-making process can be validated later.