A bill to allow live broadcasts of testimony in the Diet cleared the Lower House on June 3 with the support of all political parties.
The bill to partly revise the Law for Oath, Testimony, etc. of Witnesses at the Diet was immediately sent to the Upper House. Currently, the media are allowed to photograph witnesses and televise testimonial sessions only before witnesses take the stand.
Under the new proposal, the complete airing of testimonial sessions would only be applied to politicians and public servants. Witnesses from the private sector, however, would be able to avoid such broadcasting. A provision included in the amendments requires that "special consideration" be given to protect human rights when individuals from the private sector are summoned to the Diet.