Sit-in, Rallies and demonstrations by workers, citizens, students and religious group have surrounded the parliament since March, to stop the bills which strengthening Japan-U.S. military alliance (AMPO). In front of Hose of Representatives, hunger strikers also began to protest against bills that would permit wiretapping during investigations into organized crimes since May 17.
Liberal Democratic Party, Jiyuto (Liberal Party), and New Komeito try to pass the bills, drawn up to revise three similar bills initially submitted to the Diet by the government in March 1998, during current Diet session. The three bills would seek to:
* Allow the investigative authorities to wiretap the telephone, fax machine, and Internet and other communications by a target organization.
* Confiscate profits gained from criminal activities, including money laundering.
* Revise the Criminal Procedure Code to better protect the safety and assets of witnesses testifying for criminal trials.
These bills would disrupt the freedom of communication, a right protected under the Constitution. They are a blatant challenge not only to individual privacy but also to anti-government organizations. The bills should be scrapped immediately.