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2013/10/28
Kaieda holds press conference, stresses need to discuss NSC
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On October 28, DPJ President Banri Kaieda held a press conference at party headquarters. He commented on the fact that debate on the proposal to establish a Japanese National Security Council (NSC), which would serve as a control tower for Japan's foreign policy and national security, had got underway in the special committee of the House of Representatives that same morning, saying, "Real debate has started. Listening to the discussion in the plenary session of the Diet session last week, a variety of issues have arisen, such as whether the NSC as a new forum for discussion may just be adding another redundant level to the existing ministers' meeting, and the question of what its relation to Cabinet meetings would be." He stressed that he "would like to see these issues thoroughly debated in the Special Committee."
Kaieda expressed the opinion that "legislation to establish the NSC and legislation to protect special secrets could be considered as an integrated package," and went on to refer to the revision of the information disclosure law that the DPJ had submitted to the House of Representatives on October 25. He stressed, "From our perspective, we believe that revision of the information disclosure law is a precondition for the law concerning the protection of special secrets." Kaieda referred to comments made in Diet debate by the Minister responsible for the legislation, Masako Mori, who had said characterised journalistic activities that would be subject to punishment as "activities equivalent to the Nishiyama Incident (in which a Mainichi reporter obtained secret documents pertaining to the return of Okinawa)." Kaieda stated, "I believe that there is a need for an explanation in the Special Committee of just exactly how the Nishiyama Incident is supposed to be related to the special secrets protection legislation. There are many elements to the Nishiyama Incident, but Mr.
Nishiyama, the reporter involved, certainly revealed secret information that the government had been trying to conceal through his reporting, and we believe that we need to thoroughly discuss in the Committee just how such cases should be treated. We need to take time to go about drafting legislation and holding debate in a way that satisfies the public."
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