The Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee ignored an opposition boycott and approved a package of controversial bills Friday evening that would allow law enforcement authorities to wiretap private communications during investigations into organized crime.
With the opposition absent, the bills were supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner, the Liberal Party, and New Komeito.
Committee members from the Democratic Party of Japan, the Social Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party boycotted the all-day committee session, arguing that more discussions are necessary and claiming that committee chairman Seiken Sugiura scheduled the vote without their consent.