The 185th Extraordinary Session of the Diet will begin October 15 and end December 6, debating for 53 days. It will have a first full discussion stage after the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won landslide victory in the Upper House election held in July. The Abe government, which proclaims to make 'a nation that could engage in a war', is elaborately preparing to amend the Constitution and approve the right of collective defense of the nation, which violates the supreme law.


ABE ADMINISTRATION READY FOR CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT


The LDP government announced early October to raise the consumption tax rate to 8% in coming April. The ruling party regards the Extraordinary Session as 'Diet to implement the growth strategy' and plans to enact laws to rebuild the national economy. They include bills to enhance industrial competitiveness and of tax reduction for investors. The recent nomination of Tokyo as a venue of the 2020 Olympic Games comprises as another pillar to endorse the so-called Abenomics policy package.


The ruling party wants also to submit and approve a bill to set up National Security Council (the Japan's version of NSC), which was left on the agenda for debates in the last regular session, and another to protect secrecy of specific information. If the two bills are legislated, that will reinforce the Japan-US Alliance to a tremendous extent.


The government is well ready to enact by any means the above-said bills: it will establish a special committee where debates can be held on the every day basis as the bills constitute a commanding post to diplomatic and security policies.


The bills destroy Constitution simultaneously


The government released September 3 an outline of the bill to keep information secret which has a provision to heavily penalize public workers who may leak confidential information, and invited public comments. Many objections rushed immediately to claim that the law will cover people's sight and shut down their voices.


The so-called bill of information protection covers four areas, namely, defense, diplomacy, prevention of threatening acts against national security for the purpose to benefit foreign countries and prevention of terrorist acts. It authorizes a chief of government office to designate information which has high confidentiality as 'specific secret'. If a public worker intentionally leaks such information, he/she will be punished with the maximum 10-year imprisonment.


A limit of secrecy is arbitrary and can be extended as it depends on the chiefs of relevant offices. Duration of secrecy is set as five years, but can be renovated infinitely. This law is intended to conceal some information inconvenient to the administrative power and to violently rob of people the right to know.


Another provision says; 'an act to deceive individuals, violence, threatening, robbery of properties, intrusion to facilities and acquisition of specific information by way of illegal access are punished with the maximum imprisonment of 10 years'. In other words those who try to obtain specific information will be penalized. Conspiring activities to know secret information, instigation and agitation are punished, too.


That means penalty extends to news coverage of the press and people's demand to a government office to disclose information. That is, the law regulates political activities and civic movements. This is the other side of the same coin when the right of collective defense is approved and the constitutional rights are destroyed.


Let's struggle with firm determination!


The law of protection of secrecy definitely violates the Constitution. A bill presented by the government is usually examined by the Cabinet Legislation Bureau and presentation to the Diet may be halted if it is against the constitution. The Abe government, however, had rampantly replaced Chief with a bureaucrat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who advocates the unconstitutional collective right of defense.


Reportedly, the government will submit a bill, called one for basic national security act, in the coming regular Diet session. Such a law may enable Japan to be a nation which should stage a war against a third country as the sovereign right. The Constitution may practically be suspended if the bill is enacted. We have witnessed a history of the Enabling act to kill the Weimarer Constitution.


The situation is critical. The New Socialist Party members struggle with firm determination.


October 15, 2013