Japan Press Weekly

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2011 February 16 - 22 [SCANDAL]

JCP Ichida calls for sworn testimony regarding spying in Diet Library

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi on February 21 called for sworn Diet testimony to disclose the truth behind the espionage activities in the National Diet Library (NDL) conducted by Foreign Ministry officials against lawmakers.

A Foreign Ministry document declassified on February 18 revealed that a senior official assigned by the ministry to the NDL as a researcher had monitored what material parliamentarians were looking at and reported this to the ministry.

Ichida pointed out that the NDL has a role in supporting legislative activities of the Diet and its members against powerful government organizations and therefore this incident conducted by the Foreign Ministry, an administrative body, is a breach of separation of legislative, administrative, and judicial powers. He also said, “This is clearly a case of espionage and must be addressed fully.”

According to Ichida, the Foreign Ministry spied on five JCP lawmakers including JCP Vice Chair Ogata Yasuo (then member of the House of Councilors) as well as on two Liberal Democratic parliamentarians, and the information gained by the ministry was widely circulated to various departments.

“To reveal how the Foreign Ministry was systematically involved in the case, we call on the ministry to submit the relevant documents and the Lower House steering committee to provide an opportunity for sworn testimony,” said Ichida.

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JCP Dietmembers have learned from the NDL that the Foreign Ministry sent seven officials to the NDL between 1986 and 2007.

These seven officials served as ambassadors or in other important positions at the Foreign Ministry and were assigned to the NDL for two- to four-year terms.