Cross-border investigative journalism from Japan

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Tansa filed a lawsuit against the state on September 30, 2024, seeking to overturn the decision of the “non-existence” of state funeral documents.

We have named this trial the “State Funeral Document Concealment Trial.”

The starting point was doubts about the Cabinet decision

We decided to investigate this case on July 22, 2022, two weeks after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed on July 8.

What happened on July 22? 

It was a cabinet decision to “hold a state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe.”

A cabinet meeting is held by the Prime Minister and the Ministers of State (ministers of each ministry). At the cabinet meeting, government policies and measures are discussed, and only if there is unanimous agreement is a “cabinet decision” made and reflected in future policies.

The cabinet decision to hold a state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe was made on this day, and plans were in motion to host the funeral on September 27.

We had doubts about this decision-making process.

Opinions were divided across Japan about holding a state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe. There were many reasons for this, including the evaluation of former Prime Minister Abe’s achievements, his relationship with the World Peace Unification Family (formerly the Unification Church), the fact that the funeral expenses would be covered by national funds, and concerns that it might violate equality under the law stipulated in Article 14 of the Constitution.

Given the division of opinion, it is even more important that the topic be debated in the Diet by members of parliament elected to represent the people.

However, then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reached the conclusion through a cabinet decision without going through the Diet.

Democracy in Crisis

Why was the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved by cabinet decision without consulting the Diet?

In July 2022, Tansa requested the records of discussions between the Prime Minister’s Office and the Cabinet Legislation Bureau under the Freedom of Information Act, but was denied disclosure. The reason given was that “the records were not kept” and “they had already been thrown away.”

Following that, we submitted an examination request in an attempt to overturn the ruling, but the outcome, which came out in June 2024, remained unchanged.

Article 1 of the Freedom of Information Act states the purpose of the law as follows:

The purpose of this Act is, in accordance with the principle of sovereignty of the people, and by providing for the right to request the disclosure of administrative documents, etc., to endeavor towards greater disclosure of information held by administrative organs thereby ensuring to achieve accountability of the Government to the citizens for its various activities, and to contribute to the promotion of a fair and democratic administration that is subject to the citizens’ appropriate understanding and criticism.

As for holding a state funeral, while the public was divided on the issue, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida explained that he had “thoroughly coordinated with the Cabinet Legislation Bureau.”  It is infeasible that the government did not preserve the records of those crucial discussions and discard them. It is hiding the fact by claiming that there are “no records.”

This goes against both the “accountability to the citizens” and “fair and democratic administration that is subject to the citizens’ appropriate understanding and criticism” as stated in Article 1 of the law.

The foundation of democracy is keeping records and making them available for review by all members of society. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information Act additionally states that “any person may request” regarding those with the right to disclosure. It is a system that welcomes anyone who wants to help improve Japanese society, regardless of citizenship or age.

It is not our intention to question the merits of state funerals; rather, we want to put the brakes on dysfunction in democracy. This is because, in recent years, the government has widely concealed and falsified public documents, in addition to state funeral paperwork.

The 19th century German poet and journalist Heinrich Heine warned:

“Where they burn books, they will, in the end, burn people too.”

As a matter of fact, the Nazis in the 20th century gathered and burned any books that they deemed to be “against the German spirit.” They burned Heine’s books as well.

If things continue as they are, the day will come when Japanese public documents will not only be concealed but also burned. Furthermore, the day may come when burning public records will simply not be enough.

Regardless of their beliefs, we sincerely hope that everyone who values democracy will support this trial.