The Minister of Justice, Ms. Keiko Chiba, has listed the establishment of a national human rights institution independent of the Government of Japan (GOJ) as one of the crucial issues to be achieved in Japan, and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA) is also striving for the establishment of such an institution. Therefore, the JFBA held a meeting with Diet members at the Members' Office Building of the House of Councillors on March 19, 2010, in order to explain the structural framework of a national human rights institution proposed by the JFBA and exchange future perspectives on this issue.
At the beginning of the meeting, a message was presented from Mr. Tetsuji Nakamura, the Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, to the effect that the Ministry of Justice was working on this issue with the ultimate aim of establishing a new human rights institution.
Following the message, Mr. Shinichiro Koike, a JFBA member, gave a speech entitled, “For the Immediate Establishment of a National Human Rights Institution: Based on the Paris Principles.” In his speech, he explained that the JFBA was proposing the establishment of a national human rights institution under the Cabinet Office and in the event that human rights were violated by any public power, the provision of redress should not be restricted to victims of discrimination and abuse.
Next, Professor Koshi Yamazaki, from Kanagawa University and a Representative of the Citizens' Council for Human Rights Japan, gave a lecture entitled, “The Necessity of a National Human Rights Institution and Points in its Design: From the Viewpoint of International Human Rights Law.” He mentioned that it was vital for Japan to establish a national human rights institution and to take the necessary measures to secure its independence from the GOJ as national human rights institutions had already been established worldwide and were functioning well, in addition to the fact that seeking redress through the justice system required a lot of time and money and the human rights protection system under the Ministry of Justice would not be able to provide satisfactory redress for victims.
Opinions were also voiced from the floor and participants actively discussed this issue.