Japan Press Weekly

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2012 April 4 - 10 [CIVIL RIGHTS]

Lawyers call for improvement in Japan’s upholding of human rights

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) and human rights organizations on April 5 held an assembly in Tokyo calling for improvement in Japan’s respect for human rights suitable to international standards.

The rally emphasized the need for Japan to establish a system in which individuals can report on human rights violations directly to international organizations.

In order to do so, Japan has to ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenants on Human Rights.

JFBA President Utsunomiya Kenji criticized the Democratic Party of Japan for failing to fulfill its promise made in the 2009 general election manifesto to ratify the Optional Protocol. He called on the participants to exert further efforts to realize early ratification.

Hayashi Yoko, member of the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, said that it is an urgent task for Japan to implement internationally-binding promises.

Japanese Communist Party Upper House member Inoue Satoshi called for politicians to take the initiative to ratify the protocol in order to “internationally show Japan’s determination to guarantee basic human rights”.