The Supreme Court last year overturned lower court rulings that had ordered the governors of Osaka and Kyoto to publicly identify many of the recipients of their entertainment and social expenses.

The rulings drove Kenji Kawata, a 54-year-old member of the city assembly in Ikoma, Nara Prefecture, to demand that the top court unveil details of its own expenditures in line with the Freedom of Information Law.

"I thought it would shed light on the Supreme Court's principle on information disclosure," Kawata said. "As an ombudsman activist, it was always my impression that the Supreme Court is the biggest obstacle to our activities."