- On 12 August, the plenary session of the House of Councillors approved three anti-organised crime bills, including the wiretapping law, by a completely majority owing to the support of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the New Komeito, although the Democratic Party of Japan and other opposition parties called for further discussion on them. They steamrollered the bills through the Diet against fierce opposition without clarifying points those Rengo had insisted were not clear. They included the security of secrecy and privacy to communications as secured by laws and the guarantee of legitimate activities by trade unions and civic groups. Rengo strongly makes protest against the government and the ruling parties for having such controversial bills adopted in a hurry and careless way.
- Especially it is absolutely unacceptable to adopt the bills without making clear any serious problems of "excessive load and responsibility" and "anxiety of being involved in constituting a crime" as pointed out by the communication industry workers, who are required to be present at wiretapping, point out.
- Rengo has called for means not violating human rights and thorough open discussion among the people in the process of formulating anti-organised crime policies, in particular of regulating activities of gangsters. During the deliberation at the Committee, even a witness invited by the ruling parties pointed out that the bills were not drafted based on the actual situation of internet technology and that it was not technically feasible to wiretap communications through mobile telephones. The steamrollering was a real example of the outrage by numbers under actually fixing the flame of the new coalition government.
- The ruling parties have forced through important bills splitting public opinion. The oppression of number is leading Japan into a dangerous direction. We confront such movement with extending campaigns to the people from all social strata in cooperation with the DPJ and other parties.
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