The ruling and opposition parties are waging a battle in the Lower House's Judicial Affairs Committee over a bill that would introduce the "crime of conspiracy." The crux of the proposal is that one would be punished for joining others to plan a crime even if the crime was not actually carried out or no concrete preparations were made to commit the crime. This is a big departure from the current principle that arrests can be made only when a crime is actually committed or attempted.
The government says that with enactment of the bill, the nation can ratify the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. The U.N. adopted the convention in 2000 and Japan signed it in December of that year. The purpose of the convention is to combat crimes by international criminal organizations. Two similar bills submitted to the Diet were both killed because it was feared that their loose definition of the crime could lead to abuse. This is the third time that the government has submitted a bill on the crime of conspiracy. The core part of the bill could still allow a stretched interpretation, thus leading to abuse. Unless a clear mechanism to prevent abuse is incorporated into the bill, it should be scrapped.
Under the bill, if anyone joins a conspiracy to carry out a crime punishable by at least four years of imprisonment under existing laws, he or she would be charged with the crime of conspiracy even if the planned crime is not carried out. If people are found guilty of joining a conspiracy to commit crimes that carry imprisonment of more than 10 years, a life sentence or the death penalty, they would receive prison terms of up to five years. Those found guilty of joining a conspiracy for crimes that carry imprisonment of four years to 10 years would be punished by imprisonment of up to two years.