"Dictator" Prime Minister Abe Will Be Able to Control the Press and Suppress Criticism by Declaring a “State of Emergency"
LITERA https://lite-ra.com/2020/03/post-5307.html
Mar 12 2020, 08:07
Finally, Prime Minister Abe is trying to take advantage of the turmoil surrounding the new Coronavirus outbreak, and gain power to restrict the freedom and rights of Japanese citizens. The revised law on special measures against the new type of influenza etc. (hereinafter referred to as the “Special Measures Law”), which makes it possible to declare a state of emergency, will be passed in the lower house plenary session today, and it is expected to be passed as early as March 13th.
This “Emergency Declaration” specifies an exhaustive list of what the government will be able to restrict. For example, prefectural governors can request residents not to go out, to restrict or close schools, social welfare facilities, entertainment venues, and events. Under certain conditions, they can take control of land and houses for temporary medical facilities. In short, the freedoms of movement, assembly, expression, property rights and more — all of which are guaranteed by the Constitution — can be restricted for up to two years.
Even more problematic is that the conditions for issuing a “state of emergency” are unclear, while the power to limit basic human rights will be given to the Prime Minister. Under the Special Measures Law, the Prime Minister as the head of the Government Emergency Headquarters can issue a declaration when there is a "possibility for significant damage to the lives and health of citizens" and "the spread of infection nationwide, possibly affecting lives and the economy". There are no specific criteria for these conditions, such that Abe can declare a "state of emergency" whenever he thinks "now is the time".
The government says the judgement concerning the declaration will be made by consulting an Advisory Committee. However, this is questionable since we know that Abe already instructed the closure of schools and restrictions on immigration without consulting with them. He can suppress the meetings which criticize the administration by using the spread of infection as a pretext, and restrict the free movement of people and forcefully expropriate private land.
But even worse is that the Declaration will allow control of the media.
Under the Special Measures Law, NHK is considered a “designated public institution”, and the Prime Minister can provide this designated public institution with "general coordination on measures against the new type of influenza, etc.". In addition, it stipulates that the "Prime Minister can give necessary instructions to designated public institutions" in the case where "the measures based on the general coordination are not implemented".
This is not just a problem for NHK. At a Lower House Justice Committee meeting held on March 11th, Shiori Yamao, a member of the House of Representatives of the Constitutional Democratic Party [立憲民主党, CDP], questioned whether other TV stations would also be considered “designated public institutions”. Ichiro Miyashita, Deputy Minister of the Cabinet Office, replied: "It can be legally possible, but will not be designated (appointed) based on the discussions at the time of the enactment of the New Type of Influenza Special Measures Law." But in response to Yamao’s question — “Is it legally possible to give instructions to the press?”, Miyashita's answer was yes. “Private TV stations are not designated as public institutions at this time, but the legal framework will enable that, and instructions concerning broadcast content. Changes in the broadcast content will match what the law intends."
The Official Residence Already Applies Pressure on Corona Coverage — a "State of Emergency" Will Make this Legal
In other words, it will be legally possible to intervene directly in the content of not only NHK but also private TV stations and change the content until PM Abe is satisfied.
Nevertheless, Abe's Official Residence has already applied implicit pressure against criticisms of his administration. At the command of Deputy Chief of Staff Takaya Imai, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Cabinet Secretariat, and the Liberal Democratic Party's public relations Twitter account have all levelled objections against coverage of the coronavirus issue by Shinichi Hatori of the Morning Show (TV Asahi) and N Star (TBS) by mentioning the names of the TV programs. However, these attacks by the government turned out to be wrong contentions. In other words, they have tried to contain media reports which criticize Abe administration for reacting only after events transpire. With the “Special Measures Law” and a declaration of a "state of emergency" by PM Abe, the administration will be legally allowed to intervene and change the content of media reports, and for all TV stations.
Indeed, the problem is not just with television. Kenta Yamada, a professor at Senshu University, specializing in speech law and journalism, said that a Cabinet Order can freely change the definition of “designated public institutions", and that newspapers are also included in the designated organizations (From Yahoo! News on 03/11 “Information Control Exacerbates Anxiety — Why a State of Emergency Measure Is No Good Right Now”).
In the name of "measures against the novel coronavirus,” Prime Minister Abe will be able to take control of all news, including television and newspapers, allowing the Abe administration to release only positive information. Prime Minister Abe has been keen on intervening and applying pressure to media. He would not miss this opportunity for a free hand in authority. If we grant permission to this, we would not be able to criticize arbitrary restrictions of private rights, and there would be a plethora of untrue “major announcements" [大本営発表] from the administration.
Prime Minister Abe has been arbitrarily distorting interpretations of the law, used the national authority for his personal interests, and has committed the crime of falsifying official documents. Obviously, it is dangerous to give him the power to control media and citizens. In fact, there are many things the Abe administration can do right away without a revised special law, and without declaring a state of emergency. For example, the expansion of PCR tests, the development of a medical system as soon as possible, the enhancement of compensation for leave of absence, and especially support for the socially vulnerable which will determine their survival.
Academics and lawyers issue an urgent announcement: “The Authoritarian Implementation of a State of Emergency Will Conceal the Truth”
Even if we accept the discussion on the amendment of the Special Measures Law, the current procedure is too swift. To stop Prime Minister Abe's overreach, it at least needs approval in the Diet before declaring a “State of Emergency'' through the Special Measures Law.
However, the ruling party rejected this proposal. Moreover, the Parliamentary group of opposition parties such as the CDP and the National Democratic Party [国民民主党] quickly withdrew the proposal and agreed with the bill on the condition of adding a supplementary resolution. This resolution would require “reporting to the Diet in advance, but with the exception that it is impossible for urgent and unavoidable reasons”. The bill passed the Lower House plenary session today, March 12th, with a majority in agreement, except for the Japanese Communist Party.
The supplementary resolution is not legally binding, and it is clear that Prime Minister Abe, who has continued to downplay the need for Diet discussion and legal proceedings, will skip the Diet on the pretence of "urgency." The CDP and the NDP seem to fear the criticism that “oppositional parties always say only no and drag their feet,” especially because the original version of this law was drafted by the CDP themselves. But when the Special Measures Law was discussed during the era of the Democratic Party [民主党], the LDP was the opposition party and refused its discussion in the Diet. Furthermore, all members of the LDP abstained at that time from voting in the Upper House plenary session. Some think this is the reason for the amendment, i.e., Abe's refusal to propose the original Special Measures Law, and current efforts to amend it. If the law were not amended, the opposition parties could respond to any criticisms by saying: “This is exactly what the LDP did when the Law was discussed before”. This is an extremely important political phase. Shouldn't the opposition parties simply contend to the criticisms by saying "LDP has no right to criticize us".
As a major premise, then, if Prime Minister Abe can assure that he will not arbitrarily use or abuse power, he should begin by acting with the prior approval of the Diet. To accept his refusal and to allow a simultaneous, incidental resolution is nothing less than simply allowing Abe a free hand.
On March 9th, Masahiro Uzaki, Emeritus professor specializing in constitution and speech law at Dokkyo University, Yasuhiko Tajima, a former Sophia University professor, and Kenji Utsunomiya, former chairman and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, issued an emergency statement in opposition to the revision of the Special Measures Law (LINK). They said, “The government has not taken the necessary measures for many days, and suddenly proposed the introduction of emergency law. It is highly questionable how the reliance on emergency law relates to the deterrence and prevention of the spread of the epidemic’’. In addition to a withdrawal of this resolution, they requested “a fundamental reexamination of the Special Measures Law itself”, and issued the following warning: “Implementation of an authoritarian emergency declaration inevitably hides the truth and is a barrier to constructive criticism against the government."
This site (LITERA) also opposes the amendment of the Special Measures Law, which does not require prior approval of the Diet, as well as restricting private rights, and allows intervention in free media coverage. The opposition parties which support this amendment should recall the Abe administration's overreach, reflect on the crime of helping it, and change their attitude toward this matter.
