Four opposition parties agreed on Feb. 8 to demand Justice Minister Katsutoshi Kaneda step down over his handling of a controversial bill to criminalize conspiracy to commit terrorism, a move likely to affect Diet debate on the legislation.
The agreement was reached by the Diet affairs chiefs of the Democratic Party (DP), the Japanese Communist Party (JCP), the Liberal Party (LP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). DP Diet affairs chief Kazunori Yamanoi subsequently telephoned Wataru Takeshita, his counterpart in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to convey the four parties' decision.
The Diet affairs chiefs of the four opposition parties shared the view that Kaneda "lacks credentials" for the job in connection with his handling of the envisioned "anti-conspiracy bill," which would revise the Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes and Control of Crime Proceeds and newly establish penalties for "preparing" for terrorist attacks and other organized crimes after narrowing down the conditions by which something would be considered a conspiracy.
Read the full story at The Mainichi