Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2015 February 11 - 17 [POLITICS]

Footsteps of war always come with secrecy, surveillance, and informants

Akahata ‘current’ column

Police secretly put a GPS (Global-Positioning-System) tracking device on a target’s vehicle for surveillance without a warrant. This is not a TV crime drama. GPS surveillance has already been in place since 2006 by the National Police Agency.

The Osaka District Court late last month came to a decision on whether GPS tracking information can be admissible evidence in criminal cases. It was the first judicial ruling over GPS evidence and thus attracted much attention. The court decision was this: it would not invade privacy “too much”.

An investigative technique that also tramples on personal privacy is eavesdropping. The wiretapping bill became law in 1999 after being substantially modified in the face of mounting public criticism of interception of communications as violating Article 21 of the Constitution which guarantees the privacy of any means of communication.

Currently, the law restricts its applicability only to serious organized crimes and requires law enforcement authorities to conduct wiretaps in the presence of and observation by communication common carriers. However, what the government has in mind is the law’s revision. A bill the government plans to submit to the current Diet session would expand the scope of applicable crimes and remove the requirement of a carrier’s presence. The bill could create a wiretapping paradise in Japan.

The government says the revision is “for criminal investigations”, but such an excuse itself is doubtful in the first place. In 1986 it came to light that the home phone of Japanese Communist Party Ogata Yasuo, then JCP International Bureau director, had been tapped by the security police. The uncovered hacking action became a big scandal at that time. The court also denounced those police practices as illegal.

The government is also thinking of employing a “plea-bargaining system for acquisition of evidence” which would encourage snitching on others. The Secrets Protection Law already came into effect last year. What is more, the government seeks the creation of conspiracy legislation. Abe’s aim to build “a war-fighting nation” goes in tandem with secrecy, surveillance, and the creation of an informant society. It is always ordinary people who become the victims. No time should be lost in letting the general public know about the danger.