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ALTERNATIVE REPORT TO THE FIFTH PERIODIC REPORT OF JAPAN ON THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS December, 2007 JAPAN FEDERATION OF BAR ASSOCIATIONS (JFBA) CONTENTS Pages Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: General Issues Section 1: Public Welfare (Articles 2 and 5 of Covenant) ............................................. 4 Section 2: The Principle of Equality and The Tolerance of “Reasonable” Discrimination ............................................................................................... 7 Section 3: Japan’s anti-Covenant attitude (Article 2)................................................... 12 Section 4: Establishment of Domestic Institution for the Protection of Human Rights .................................................................. 14 Section 5: Ratification of the First Optional Protocol to the Covenant ....................... 17 Section 6: Human Rights Education for Judges, Prosecutors and Law-Enforcement Officers ........................................................................................................ 20 Section 7: Violation of human rights recognized in the Covenant and the State remedy system .......................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 2: Rights of Foreigners and Minorities Section 1: Long-term Foreign Residents .................................................................... 28 ① Right to assume an office in public service .......................................................... 28 ② Issues of qualification of Korean Schools (Article 26, 27 of the Covenant) ........................................................................... 32 ③ The Duty to Carry the Certificate of Alien Registration at All Times ................. 35 ④ Re-entry permits and right to return to one’s own country .................................. 37 Section 2: Discrimination against Foreigner ................................................................ 39 ① Discriminatory remarks, violence and harassment against students of North Korean Schools (article 26 and 27 of the Covenant) ................................. 39 ② Discriminatory remark against ethnic group by public officials and encouragement of discrimination by public organs (Covenant article 26) ........................................................................................................................ 42 Section 3: Interference with privacy through intensified control of immigration and foreign residents (Covenant, article 2, 17 and 26) .............................. 46 Section 4: Industrial Training and Technical Internship Program ............................... 50 Section 5: Measures taken by the Human Rights Organs under the Ministry of Justice for Protection of Human Rights of Foreigners (Covenant, article 2) ....... 52 Section 6: Deportation of Foreigners (Covenant, article 13) ...................................... 54 Section 7: Refugee Problem ....................................................................................... 59 ① Treatment of Applicants for Recognition of Refugee Status. .............................. 59 ② Treatment of the Convention Refugee .................................................................. 62 ③ Procedures for the Convention Refugee Recognition .......................................... 63 Section 8: Feudalistic Status Discrimination (Article 26) .......................................... 71 Section 9: The Ainu people (Article 27) .................................................................... 75 Section 10: Discrimination against persons with disabilities （Articles 26 and 2 of the Covenant, Article 2 paragraph 2 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights） ........ 81 Section 11: Hansen’s Disease Problems .................................................................... 85 Chapter 3: The Rights of Women Section 1: Discrimination against Women ................................................................. 93 ① The prohibition for women to remarry for a certain period ................................. 93 ② Age of marriage ..................................................................................................... 93 ③ Dual-surname system ............................................................................................ 93 ④ Labor-related issues .............................................................................................. 94 ⑤ Recruitment of female national public officers to the Diet and other administrative bodies ............................................................................................ 97 Section 2: Trafficking in Women, Pornography and “comfort women” ..................... 99 Section 3: Domestic Violence against Women ......................................................... 106 Section 4: Sexual Harassment .................................................................................. 109 Section 5: Forced Sterilization ................................................................................. 111 Chapter 4: The Rights of Children Section 1: Discrimination against Children Born Out of Wedlock ............................ 113 Section 2: Juvenile Justice (Article 9, 10, and 14 of the Covenant) ........................... 116 Section 3: Child Abuse (Article 24 of the Covenant)................................................. 125 Section 4: Corporal Punishment (Article 7 of the Covenant) .................................... 129 Chapter 5: The Right to Life (Capital Punishment).................................................... 132 Chapter 6: Crime Victims .............................................................................................. 143 Chapter 7: Investigation and Detention of Suspects and Accused Persons Section 1: Substitute prisons (Daiyo Kangoku) (Article 7, 9,10 and 14 of the Covenant) .................................................................................................................... 145 Section 2: Ensuring transparency in interrogations (Article 7, 9 and 14 of the Covenant) ...................................................... 152 Section 3: Principles of Detention of Suspects and Defendants (Article 9 and14 of the Covenant) ............................................................ 155 Section 4: The Restriction of Access to and Communication with Defense Counsel, and his Presence at Interview with Suspect, and the Institution of Consultation Designation (Article 14 of the Covenant) .......................... 159 Section 5: Lengthening and expansion of prohibition of a suspect’s access to visitors (Article 10 and 14) ................................................................... 165 Section 6: Redress from illegal detention (Article 9 of the Covenant) ...................... 166 Chapter 8: The Rights of the Defendant in Criminal Trials Section 1: Insufficient disclosure of evidence (Article 9 and 14 of the Covenant) ........................................................... 169 Section 2: The right to defendant’s conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal (Article 14 paragraph 5) ........................................... 174 Chapter 9: Problems with Convicted Detainees (Treatment of Detainees in Correctional Institutions) .............................. 177 Chapter 10: Freedom of Thought, Consciousness and Expression Section 1: Freedom of expression ............................................................................... 191 ① Suppression of distribution of flyers by the police(Article 19) ......................... 191 ② Uniform total ban on political activities by national government employees (Article 19 of the Covenant) ............................................................................... 193 ③ Textbook authorization (Article 19 of the Covenant) ........................................ 197 ④ Restriction on Mass Media ................................................................................. 202 Section 2: The issue of the Hinomaru, the rising-sun flag, And the Kimigayo national anthem (Article 18 of the Covenant) ........................................................ 206 Section 3: Freedom of Election Campaigns (Articles 25 and 19 of the Covenant) ....................................................... 210 Introduction 1. In accordance with Article 40 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Fifth Periodic Report of the government of Japan was submitted in December 2006. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations (hereinafter referred to as “the JFBA”) has prepared this document as a NGO alternative report to the government’s report, and respectfully submits it here to the Human Rights Committee (hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”) to provide full information about the real human rights situation in Japan for the Committee’s fruitful consideration of the government’s report. 2. This report is basically organized in correspondence with the government’s report that has been drafted in the order of the articles of the Covenant. It also includes the other important issues not mentioned in the government’s report. In line with the Committee’s quest, the JFBA has also tried to highlight what the government has been doing so far to deal with the concerns and recommendations previously expressed by the Committee. In addition, new issues have arisen during
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