The way the bill amending the law against organized crime — which will penalize conspiring and preparing to commit nearly 300 types of crimes even before they are committed — was railroaded through the Diet is deplorable. Instead of seeking to address lingering doubts and questions about the contentious legislation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition cut short the Upper House deliberations, bypassed a committee vote and rammed the bill through the chamber Thursday morning at the end of an overnight marathon plenary session. It is yet another example of what an administration with a dominant hold on power can do.
Given its majority control of the Diet, it would have been easy for the ruling alliance to get the legislation enacted anyway. The way the committee deliberations were unilaterally terminated and the bill was put to vote in an unusual procedure appears to symbolize the Abe administration's disregard of widespread concern over the legislation.
It would indeed be a pity if the coalition hastened the process toward the closing of the 150-day regular Diet session to quash more chances for the opposition to grill the administration over suspicions that the "prime minister's intention" may have played a role in the government's deregulation to allow a school operator run by Abe's longtime friend to open a new veterinary medicine department at its university.