A document critical of Japan’s anti-terror legislation, authored by a UN Special Rapporteur, appears to have been passed from a senior Japan Federation of Bar Associations figure to the Democratic Party before being publicly disclosed.
Based on reporting by the Sankei Shimbun, this article examines how international institutions, domestic legal groups, and opposition politicians may have coordinated to use the document as a tool for attacking the Japanese government.

2017-06-18
A friend who had read an article I published a few hours earlier handed me page five of today’s Sankei Shimbun.

A senior figure of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations may have provided it to the Democratic Party.
Anti-terror conspiracy legislation.
Coordination for attacking the government.
A UN rebuttal document.

Regarding a document dated May 22 in which Mr. Cannatacci, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, rebutted the Japanese government, it was learned on the 17th that attorney Yuichi Kaido, who serves as vice head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations’ “Task Force on the Conspiracy Bill,” is suspected of having handed the document to the Democratic Party immediately after receiving it.
This was revealed by a person related to the Democratic Party.

Mr. Kaido had explained that he made the document public at a press conference on May 23, but facts have now emerged indicating that prior to that, Mr. Kaido and the Democratic Party were coordinating and using the document as material for attacking the government.

The May 22 Cannatacci document criticized the amended Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes, which newly established the offense of “preparatory acts for terrorism” and was enacted on the 15th of this month, stating that it was “foolish to have decided to rush the bill into passage.”

In response to an interview with the Sankei Shimbun, Mr. Kaido stated that the document was made public at the May 23 press conference, and he avoided giving a clear answer as to whether he had handed it to the Democratic Party, saying, “The question has no meaning.”

However, at a meeting of the Democratic Party’s legal affairs division held at 9:00 a.m. on the 23rd, prior to Mr. Kaido’s press conference at 12:30 p.m. the same day, the document had already been distributed.

Upper House member Yoshifu Arita, who serves as the Democratic Party’s “Next Minister of Justice,” testified to the Sankei Shimbun regarding the route by which the document was obtained, saying, “Perhaps it came from Mr. Kaido.
The document was issued by the Democratic Party secretariat.
It was shown to me just beforehand, and thinking, ‘So this is what it is,’ I presented it at the May 23 legal affairs division meeting.”

Meanwhile, the party’s Policy Research Council responded, “We cannot disclose the source from which the materials were obtained.”
Mr. Kaido also responded to further inquiries from the Sankei Shimbun only by stating, “As I answered in response to the previous question, I have nothing to add,” and did not clearly state the route by which the document was provided.

Although UN Special Rapporteurs have the authority to request information from governments, Mr. Cannatacci sent a letter dated May 18 criticizing the amended Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes unilaterally, without making any inquiry to the Japanese government.
Furthermore, the rebuttal document dated May 22 was not delivered directly to the Japanese government by Mr. Cannatacci himself.