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Paper short abstract:

Controversial laws that expanded police powers were enacted during the tenure of PM Shinzo Abe, including a state secrecy law, expanded wiretapping authority and the crime of “conspiracy.” We will examine these laws and their impact on society, especially on free speech and other individual rights.

Paper long abstract:

One of the enduring achievements of the Abe Administration was a dramatic enhancement of police powers. Between 2012 and 2020, the long period when Shinzo Abe served as Prime Minister, the Diet passed several landmark laws that increased police powers, including a state secrecy act, laws that expanded police wiretapping ability and introduced “plea bargaining,” and, perhaps of greatest significance, legislation that created the new crime of “conspiracy.”

Because these laws present significant threats to individual rights, they were all opposed by opposition parties, news media, bar associations, and civil society groups. They had been on the Ministry of Justice wish list for many years. Only Abe’s determination and unique political power made these changes possible.

The first item on the agenda was the state secrecy act, passed by the Diet in December 2013, one year after Abe took office. It empowers government officials to designate broad categories of information secret and creates severe penalties for public disclosure, including a maximum five-year prison term for anyone found guilty of “instigating” or “inciting” a leak, a rule that can even be applied to news reporters.

2016 legislation expanded police authority to use wiretaps and enables police to conduct wiretaps at police offices rather than at telecommunications companies. The same law empowered Japan’s prosecutors to utilize “plea bargaining” for the first time, empowering them to a make agreements with suspects or defendants to reduce or drop charges in exchange for information related to another person’s case.

A 2017 law created the new crime of conspiracy, which can be applied to a vast range of activities. Like the other new police laws, it was widely opposed. Opponents included even UN special rapporteur Joseph Cannataci. He pointed to several troubling aspects of the statute, including its potential role in expanding police surveillance. In Cannataci’s words, in order to establish the "preparatory actions" required by a conspiracy indictment, individuals to be charged could be subject to “a considerable level of surveillance beforehand.”

This paper will describe the political battle over this Abe-era legislation and the ongoing significance of the new police powers.

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Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the socio-political factors to account for conservative mobilization across Japan by using the event data.

Paper long abstract:

We have witnessed the growing presence of conservative or right-wing movements around the world, exemplified by the increasing popularity of extreme-right movements and political parties in European countries. In the post-Cold War Japan, conservative or right-wing movements have become salient in the socio-political as to such issues as history textbook, patriotic education, national pride, anti-voting rights for foreign residents, and the amendment of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. These so-called Ukeika (rightward shift) phenomena have been driven by politicians, but the role of civic groups and their national movements have also gained media attention --- notably, the Nippon Kaigi (NK) and their activities in the 2nd Abe administration. How can we grasp the Ukeika phenomenon? What affects conservative mobilization in Japan? This paper explores the factors to account for conservative mobilization across Japan by using my original data, JCED (Japanese Conservative Event Data, 1994-2020, Data source: Breath of Japan, NK's Periodical). JCED provides the number of events in each prefecture as conservative mobilization indicator and the paper will explore the following factors --- 1) political environment factors (vote share of LDP and strengths of LDP candidates), 2) economic factor (unemployment rate), 3) demographic factor (share of foreign residents), and 4) group resources (the number of local branches) --- as suggested by previous research. This study expects to articulate factors to explain conservative mobilization, tackling political/economic/social factors altogether, while existing studies on Ukeika in Japan highlighting the effect of economic downturn and recession after the 1990s in particular, and to help understand the Ukeika phenomenon that has been a latent threat to a democracy in Japan and has undermined amicable relations with neighboring countries.

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Paper short abstract:

Our study shows how Israel has become subject to a flourishing of “New Nationalist Populism”/NNP, whereas in the Japanese context some conditions still prevent extreme feelings of alienation from the authorities, being a source of inspirations to those searching to reassure the democratic enduring.

Paper long abstract:

Democratization processes and the maintenance of democratic regimes have never been easy tasks. In particular, populism has always cast a shadow upon democratic developments, though not always a severe threat. In recent decades, democracies around the world have faced a major challenge in the new wave of rightist nationalist populism (to be called here “New Nationalist Populism”, or NNP), gaining significant influence. Our study shows how Israel has become subject to flourishing NNP, while Japan still has mechanisms that avoid such extreme developments. Most of all, in Israel there grew a basic distrust in the authorities, whereas in the Japanese context a number of conditions still prevent extreme feelings of alienation from the leading elites. Japan, on the other hand, seems to suggest a model democracy that succeeds to preserve its infrastructure. This does not mean that the Japanese political model is constantly favorable compared to other democracies. What we claim is that at this point in time, Japan has more tools to cope with the NNP challenge and it may be of an inspiration to those aspiring to reassure the enduring of Israel’s democratic foundations.

As such, it seems that the present-day forces striving to rehabilitate liberal democracy may learn an important lesson from Japan. They should encourage their democratic states to become much more attentive to the socio-economic needs of their peoples, pursuing deeper involvement.