The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a request from citizens for disclosure of diplomatic documents that show the existence of secret accords between Tokyo and Washington over the 1972 reversion of Okinawa, by accepting the government's contention that because the documents do no exist, it cannot disclose them. The ruling came despite the fact that documents showing the existence of the secret accords had already been declassified by the U.S. National Archives.
The court ruled that if the government insists that documents sought by citizens do not exist, citizens have to prove their existence if they want to have the government disclose them. This is almost an impossible task for ordinary citizens to carry out. By imposing such a duty on citizens, the top court has evaded its duty to protect the people's right to know, the foundation of democracy. The ruling will only encourage the government to increase the number of documents it keeps secret, preventing Japan from becoming a more open society.
Together with 25 other citizens, Takichi Nishiyama — an 82-year-old former Mainichi Shimbun reporter who in a 1971 newspaper article hinted at the existence of a secret bilateral pact over Okinawa's reversion — filed a lawsuit in March 2009 to force the release of three documents after the government refused to disclose them. The plaintiffs sought documents related to $4 million paid by Japan to restore land used for military purposes to its original state, $16 million paid by Japan to move a Voice of America relay station abroad, and Japan's financial obligations above the publicly acknowledged figure of $320 million.