Japan Press Weekly

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2014 October 1 - 7 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Ex-senior SDF official in court testifies on SDF monitoring of people

In a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the monitoring of the public by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, a former SDF official in charge of intelligence activities on October 6 testified about SDF headquarters’ involvement in surveillance of public activities.

The lawsuit was filed in 2007 by 107 residents in the Tohoku region, claiming that the SDF illegally monitored their activities opposing the SDF dispatch to Iraq.

Sueyasu Masayuki, who was summoned to testify, served in a position responsible for intelligence activities at the Ground Staff Office, the headquarters of the Ground SDF.

Sueyasu in his testimony said that he gave intelligence units orders to collect information regarding citizens’ activities at rallies, demonstrations, and signature-collection and other street campaigns against the SDF dispatch.

He stated that the units gathered a variety of intelligence that included personal information and that this information was distributed to top GSDF officials. Although he insisted that there is no problem since the information was on public figures, he said that he had never confirmed whether targeted persons were public figures or not.

Akahata has learned that the Maritime and Air SDF also have a special section dealing with intelligence activities as well as the GSDF.

A former high-ranking SDF official, who is familiar with SDF intelligence gathering activities, said to Akahata, “The SDF continues its surveillance of the public and will further strengthen such activities.”

Past related articles:
> SDF’s surveillance of civil protests illegal: court ruling [March 27, 2012]
> JCP revelation of SDF surveillance of the public receives widespread press coverage [June 9, 2007]