The Justice Ministry has decided in principle to exempt the media from being wiretapped in a bill currently before the Diet, ministry sources said Tuesday.
The bill, part of a package of measures targeting organized crime, will allow law enforcement authorities to monitor communications during investigations of organized crime.
The ministry's decision is in response to criticism that the monitoring of telephone, fax and e-mail between journalists and sources suspected of involvement in organized crime would violate the freedom of the press and its right to protect the privacy of sources, they said.