自由権規約：国際人権規約

CCPR/C/JPN/QPR/7

Advance unedited version

Distr.: General

24 November 2017

Original: EnglishEnglish, French and Spanish only

Human Rights CommitteeList of issues prior to submission of the seventh periodicreport of Japan*,**A. General information on the national human rights situation, includingnew measures and developments relating to the implementation of theCovenant1. Please provide information on measures taken to implement the recommendationscontained in the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CCPR/C/JPN/CO/6),including any relevant statistical data, and information on the mechanisms in place toreview the process of implementation of previous recommendations. Please report on anyother significant developments in the legal and institutional framework within which humanrights are promoted and protected that have taken place since the adoption of the previousconcluding observations, including examples of cases in which the provisions of theCovenant have been referred to by national courts and other law-applying institutions, andtraining programmes for lawyers, judges and prosecutors on the application andinterpretation of the Covenant.B. Specific information on the implementation of articles 1-27 of theCovenant, including with regard to the previous recommendations ofthe CommitteeConstitutional and legal framework within which the Covenant isimplemented (art. 2)2. Please clarify the State party’s current position on the issue of accession to the firstOptional Protocol to the Covenant providing for an individual communication procedure.3. Please respond to concerns that the proposed deletion of article 97 of theConstitution upholding the inviolability of fundamental human rights, as part ofconstitutional revisions advanced by the government, would undermine the protection ofhuman rights, including Covenant rights, domestically.

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* Adopted by the Committee at its 121st session (16 October-10 November 2017).** Unless otherwise indicated, paragraph numbers in parentheses refer to the Committee’s previousconcluding observations, CCPR/C/JPN/CO/6.

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4. With reference to the previous concluding observations (para. 7), please report onthe progress made in establishing an independent national human rights institution, inaccordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for thepromotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles) (General Assembly resolution48/134, annex).Non-discrimination and prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religioushatred (arts. 2, 20 and 26)5. In reference to the previous concluding observations (para. 11), please indicatewhether steps have been or are being taken to adopt comprehensive anti-discriminationlegislation that addresses discrimination, including in the private sphere; prohibits direct,indirect and multiple discrimination; contains a comprehensive list of prohibited grounds ofdiscrimination, including colour, language, political or other opinion, national origin,property, birth, sexual orientation, gender identity and other status. Please also report onmeasures to eliminate all discriminatory provisions regarding the status of children born outof wedlock.6. In the light of the previous concluding observations (para. 12), please respond toreports of widespread racial discrimination and hate speech, including in political discourse,the media and on the Internet, targeting minorities such as Chinese, Burakumin, indigenouspeoples in the Ryukyus/Okinawa, and especially ethnic Korean residents; of streetdemonstrations that incite discrimination against ethnic minorities; and of proliferation offalse stories, including in the media, encouraging such discrimination. Please respond toconcerns that the Act on the Promotion of Efforts to Eliminate Unfair DiscriminatorySpeech and Behaviour against Persons Originating from Outside Japan adopted in May2016 fails to directly prohibit hate speech or to punish such conduct. Please report on anyother measures taken to: (a) prohibit all propaganda advocating racial superiority or hatredthat incites to discrimination, hostility or violence; (b) curb demonstrations that areintended to disseminate such propaganda; (c) follow-up on the hate speech rallies reportreleased by the Ministry of Justice on 30 March 2016; (d) raise awareness about racism andtrain judges, prosecutors and police officials in detecting hate and racially motivatedcrimes; (e) ensure that racist motivation constitutes an aggravating circumstance. Pleasealso provide information on the number of hate crimes reported to the police and on theensuing investigations and convictions.7. In the light of the previous concluding observations (para. 11), please report onprogress made in combatting homophobic and transphobic discourse by politicians anddiscrimination and stigma against LGBTI individuals, particularly in access to employment,education, healthcare, welfare and legal services, including through the education system.Please also: (a) report on measures taken to address the higher than average suicide rateamong LGBTI individuals; (b) clarify whether steps have been taken towards officialrecognition of same-sex unions at national level; (c) explain the compatibility with theCovenant of certain requirements for legal recognition of gender reassignment such asdeprivation of reproductive organs or reproductive ability, gender confirmation surgery andsingle status; and (d) address reports about mistreatment of transgender prisoners indetention facilities.Equality between men and women (arts. 3 and 25)8. With reference to the previous concluding observations (para. 8), please clarifywhether consideration is given to abolishing altogether the waiting period for women toremarry upon divorce, and report on measures taken to equalize the minimum age ofmarriage for women and men to 18 years of age. Please also indicate whether there hasbeen any progress with amending article 750 of the Civil Code requiring married couples touse the same surname which in practice often compels women to adopt their husbands’

surnames. Please provide information on the progress made in increasing politicalrepresentation of women, including of minority women such as Buraku, Ainu and ZainichiKorean women.State of emergency and counter-terrorism measures (arts. 4, 9, 14, 17, 19, 21and 22)9. Please comment on concerns that the draft constitutional proposals provide for broadderogations in times of emergency, and elaborate on measures taken to ensure that anyamendments to regulations governing states of emergency are compatible with article 4 ofthe Covenant. Please respond to concerns that the Act on Punishment of Organized Crimesand Control of Crime Proceeds (the ‘Conspiracy Law’) may unduly restrict the freedoms ofexpression, assembly and association and lead to violations of the right to liberty andsecurity and of the right to a fair trial owing in particular to open-ended elements of thecrime of conspiracy, such as “organized criminal group”, “planning”, and “preparatoryacts”, that allegedly do not comply with the principle of legal certainty and predictability,and due to the fact that the 277 new crimes in Appendix 4 include crimes apparentlyunrelated to terrorism and organized crime.Violence against women, including sexual and domestic violence (arts. 2, 3, 6,7, and 26)10. In the light of the previous concluding observations (para. 10) and the recentconcluding observations of CEDAW (CEDAW/C/JPN/CO/7-8 (2016), para. 23), pleasereport on any new measures taken to combat domestic violence, including to address delaysin the issuance of emergency protection orders by courts, to investigate all reports ofdomestic violence and prosecute perpetrators, and to ensure that sufficient supportmeasures and, where relevant, assurances against loss of immigration status are in place forvictims of domestic violence who are migrant women and members of minoritycommunities. Please clarify whether relevant legislation has been amended to expand therestrictive definition of rape, to ensure ex officio prosecution of rape and other crimes ofsexual violence, and to raise the age of sexual consent set at 13 years. Please also report onany plans to explicitly criminalize marital rape and to raise the minimum penalty forstatutory rape.Right to life, the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment or punishment, fair trial and the rights of the child (arts. 6, 7, 14and 24)11. In reference to the previous concluding observations (para. 13) and the Committee’sevaluation of the follow-up replies of the State party (see CCPR/C/116/2 andCCPR/C/120/2), please:(a) Clarify whether measures are being planned or taken towards the abolition ofthe death penalty and the accession to the Second Optional Protocol; pending abolition,have steps being taken to ensure that the death penalty may be imposed only for the mostserious crimes as prescribed in article 6 (2) of the Covenant, i.e. only to crimes of extremegravity involving intentional killing?;(b) Report on whether measures have been taken to: (i) provide individuals ondeath row and their families with reasonable advance notice of the scheduled date and timeof execution; (ii) refrain from imposing solitary confinement on death row prisoners, exceptin the most exceptional circumstances and for strictly limited periods; (iii) strengthen legalsafeguards against wrongful conviction in capital cases; (iv) guarantee that confessionsobtained by torture or ill-treatment are not admissible as evidence in capital cases; (v)guarantee the strict confidentiality of all meetings between death row inmates and theirlawyers;

(c) Clarify whether a mandatory and effective system of review has beenestablished in capital cases, and the conditions under which requests for retrial or pardonhave a suspensive effect;(d) Respond to reports alleging the continued application of the death penaltyagainst persons with serious psychosocial and intellectual disabilities and clarify whetherthe State party introduced an independent mechanism to review the mental health of deathrow inmates;(e) Clarify also whether any review of the current method of execution has beenundertaken to ensure it is not contrary to article 7.12. Please report on measures taken to address the extremely high conviction rate basedprimarily on confessions and the large number of wrongful convictions. In particular,please report on how the new system of disclosing the list of evidence kept by theprosecutor following the entry into force of the bill amending the Code of CriminalProcedure in May 2016 will ensure full access of the defence to all prosecution materials aswell as whether such disclosure will be mandatory in all criminal cases. Also provideinformation on the percentage of criminal cases subject to mandatory recordings ofinterrogations pursuant to the bill amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, including anyexceptions, and clarifications on whether an audiovisual recording is required for the entireinterrogation process and for interrogations prior to a formal arrest; whether suchrecordings will be provided in all interrogations in capital cases; whether there are plans tomake audiovisual recordings of interrogations mandatory in all criminal cases; and whethera copy of the recordings are made available to the defendant. Please indicate whether theState party plans to provide court-appointed lawyers to all juvenile offenders irrespective ofthe crime committed.13. In reference to the previous concluding observations (para. 23), please respond toconcerns that the lifting in March 2017 of the designation of all remaining contaminatedareas with radiation exposure under 20 millisieverts per year as evacuation zones places thelife and health of affected persons at risk, and the termination of the free housing supportfor evacuees living outside of the evacuation zone may force them to return to highlycontaminated areas. Please indicate whether consideration has been given to reviewing thehigh threshold of radiation exposure level for designation of evacuation areas. Please alsocomment on reports of high prevalence of thyroid cancer in children since the nuclearaccident, and elaborate on measures taken to protect the right to life of people affected bythe radiation and to provide them with adequate health services required for radiationexposure.14. Please respond to reports of forced sterilization of persons with disabilities under theEugenic Protection Act and elaborate on measures taken to bring perpetrators to justice andto provide full reparation to victims of forced sterilization, including compensation andrehabilitation.Liberty and security of person and treatment of persons deprived of theirliberty (arts. 7, 9 and 10)15. With reference to the previous concluding observations (para. 17), please report onmeasures taken to: (a) ensure that involuntary hospitalization of persons with mentaldisabilities is imposed only as a last resort, for the shortest appropriate period of time, andonly when necessary and proportionate for the purpose of protecting the person in questionfrom serious harm or preventing injury to others; and that adequate safeguards are availableboth in law and in practice; (b) ensure an effective and independent monitoring andreporting system for mental institutions, aimed at effectively investigating and sanctioningabuses; (c) extend the application of the Act on the Prevention of Abuse of Persons withDisabilities and Support for Caregivers to abuses taking place in mental health institutions.