Yukiko Miki was shocked in 2012 when she received the results of the information disclosure request she filed with the Cabinet Office seeking the minutes of meetings held to discuss the creation of a state secrets bill.
The meetings, attended by officials from various government agencies and other experts, took place from 2008 to 2009 under the then-ruling coalition government of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito. She had filed the request in 2011 under the national Freedom of Information Act because she couldn't find any information on the meetings on the government website.
When she received the documents, most of the minutes, except for the front page, preface and postscript, were blacked out. Dissatisfied, she filed an administrative complaint only to be rebuffed by the Cabinet Office's screening panel, which said the decision to withhold most of the information had been appropriate. Finally, she decided to sue the central government in July. The first court session was held last month.