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42 minutes ago
- Politics
Japan Panel Calls for Expanding Interrogation Recordings
News from Japan Politics Jul 24, 2025 18:30 (JST) Tokyo, July 24 (Jiji Press)--An expert panel of Japan's Justice Ministry in a report on Thursday called for establishing a new forum to discuss an update of the criminal procedure law, including expanding the scope of cases subject to video and audio recordings of suspect interrogations. Mandatory recordings of law-enforcement authorities' interrogations were introduced in 2019 through a revision of the law prompted by a high-profile evidence-tampering scandal at the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office's special investigation division in 2010. The requirement covers cases independently investigated by public prosecutors and those to be handled in lay judge trials. The proportion of cases in which interrogations were recorded, however, has remained at 2-3 pct, and bar associations and other organizations are calling for an expansion of the range of cases subject to such recordings. The expert panel said that the interrogation recording system as a whole has no major problems. Meanwhile, it urged the ministry to take necessary measures through constant reviews of the law and its operation, noting that inappropriate interrogations were conducted during recordings in some cases. The panel also asked the ministry to consider setting up a new system to speed up criminal procedures in cases where suspects or defendants admit their guilt and to allow lawyers to be present at interrogations. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
2 hours ago
- Business
Purchases of U.S. Defense Equipment Based on Existing Plan: Japan's Hayashi
News from Japan Politics Jul 24, 2025 16:45 (JST) Tokyo, July 24 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi indicated Thursday that the country's additional purchases of U.S. defense equipment as announced by the U.S. government will be based on Tokyo's existing procurement policy, not representing a new initiative. Regarding the Japan-U.S. trade agreement announced this week, the U.S. government has said that Japan agreed to buy billions of dollars' worth of defense equipment from the United States a year. On this, Hayashi told a press conference, "We explained to the U.S. side our perspective on near-term defense equipment purchases based on our country's current defense buildup program." The top government spokesman also said, "We gave our thoughts during the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations from the viewpoint that Japan's purchases of U.S. defense equipment help correct the trade imbalances between the two countries as a consequence." Japanese economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, also chief negotiator on tariff issues with the United States, has separately said that the trade agreement does not include defense-related outlays. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
3 hours ago
- Politics
Prefectural Governors Call for Multicultural Society
News from Japan Society Jul 24, 2025 16:09 (JST) Tokyo, July 24 (Jiji Press)--Japanese prefectural governors issued a declaration Thursday vowing to seek a multicultural society while rejecting exclusivism and xenophobia. The governors also called for nation-building efforts across party lines, noting that the people of the country need a long-term vision for the future. The declaration was adopted at a meeting of the National Governors' Association in the northeastern city of Aomori, after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition lost its majority in the House of Councillors in Sunday's election. The declaration opposed measures that would shift debts onto future generations, such as tax cuts without alternative funding sources. In light of the spread of disinformation and misinformation on social media, it called for establishing a system that enables people to take part in political activities based on correct information. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
3 hours ago
- Politics
Police Detect 889 Threatening Posts Ahead of Upper House Poll
News from Japan Society Jul 24, 2025 16:14 (JST) Tokyo, July 24 (Jiji Press)--Japanese police confirmed a total of 889 menacing online posts, including those threatening attacks on sites of campaign speeches, in the run-up to Sunday's election for the House of Councillors, the upper parliamentary chamber, the National Police Agency said Thursday in a report on security measures for the poll. The report also showed that 140 cutting tools, such as box cutters and scissors, were found through baggage screenings and metal detector checks conducted at almost all speech venues. But all the tools were for work and study, and no one was arrested. In response to a series of attacks by so-called lone offenders in recent years, including the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which occurred while he was giving a stump speech in 2022, the NPA set up the first-ever center for integrating threat information regarding such offenders ahead of the Upper House election. Lone offenders carry out terrorist attacks without belonging to groups based on political ideology or religious beliefs. The center took charge of analyzing posts on social media or online bulletin boards as well as information about suspicious persons, with the aim of preventing crimes and reinforcing security. The NPA confirmed the 889 threatening posts through cyber patrol and also thanks to reports from the public between June 16 and Saturday. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
4 hours ago
- Business
Trump Says Japan Agrees to Buy Military Equipment
News from Japan Jul 24, 2025 00:50 (JST) Washington, July 23 (Jiji Press)--U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Japan has agreed to buy billions of dollars' worth of military and other equipment. The comments by Trump came a day after Japanese economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa said in Washington that the new Japan-U.S. trade agreement "does not include anything related to defense spending." A source accompanying Akazawa, Tokyo's top tariff negotiator with the United States, said, "Security was not part of discussions" at the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations. But Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday, " to buy BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF MILITARY AND OTHER EQUIPMENT." Initially, Trump sought to discuss Japan's defense spending and its host-nation financial support for U.S. forces in Japan in the tariff talks. But he later shifted course and suggested the topics would be handled in separate discussions. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
