ILEA000002344: Diet enacts wiretapping legislation+

Israel initially greenlights controversial judicial reform despite protest

STORY: Israel initially greenlights controversial judicial reform despite protest DATELINE: Feb. 21, 2023 LENGTH: 0:00:54 LOCATION: Jerusalem CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1. various of the demonstration STORYLINE: Israel's parliament voted on Tuesday to advance Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious plan to overhaul the country's judiciary, despite widespread public opposition. After a stormy debate, the first two bills of the judicial reform passed in a first, non-binding reading. Out of the 120 seats in the parliament, 63 lawmakers voted in favor of the bills, 47 against, and 10 were absent. Members of Netanyahu's new ultra-religious and ultranationalist coalition government celebrated the outcome. "A great night and a great day," Netanyahu wrote on Twitter after the vote. The first bill would alter the composition of the nine-member committee that appoints judges, limiting the influence of legal professionals and giving the government an outright majority. If approved, the law would

3 education bills clear lower house, certain to become law

TOKYO, Japan - Protesters rally in front of the Diet building in Tokyo on May 18 as the House of Representatives approved the same day a set of three education reform bills aimed at instilling patriotism during compulsory education, reinforcing state control over local education boards and requiring teachers to renew their licenses every decade. (Kyodo)

Ex-LDP critics of postal privatization bills form new party

TOKYO, Japan - Former senior Liberal Democratic Party members who voted against postal privatization bills advocated by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announce the formation of a new political party at a press conference in Tokyo on Aug. 17 in preparation for the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election. At center is former lower house speaker Tamisuke Watanuki, who heads the party, called the Kokumin Shinto. (Kyodo)

LDP heavyweight Murakami to quit Diet over scandal

TOKYO, Japan - Ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) heavyweight member Masakuni Murakami (file photo) has decided to quit the House of Councillors over his links to scandal-hit mutual aid foundation KSD, from which he allegedly received massive financial support, LDP sources said Feb. 22. Murakami conveyed his decision to senior members of an LDP faction to which he belongs during a meeting the same day.

Only 4 reelection-seeking lawmakers behind Mori

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (L) chats with Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa (C) and Foreign Minister Yohei Kono (R) before the start of a regular cabinet session Feb. 21. The Yomiuri Shimbun said its latest survey shows only four out of 61 House of Councillors members of the three ruling coalition parties facing reelection this summer want Mori to stay on.

Murakami agrees to testify under oath over KSD scandal

TOKYO, Japan - Masakuni Murakami, a former head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's House of Councillors members, agrees Feb. 5 to testify under oath over his ties to KSD, a mutual-aid foundation at the heart of a widening bribery scandal, LDP sources said. Opposition parties have been calling on Murakami to give sworn Diet testimony over his links to KSD, from which Murakami allegedly received huge financial support.

Diet passes changes to toughen Juvenile Law

TOKYO, Japan - House of Representatives members stand up to give their approval to amendments to the Juvenile Law on Nov. 28, lowering from 16 to 14 the minimum age at which children can be held criminally responsible for their actions. The amendments will come into force in April.

Diet turmoil continues as talks for compromise fail

TOKYO, Japan - Japan's ruling (R) and opposition parties (L) fail to reach a compromise Oct. 17 on a bill to revise the House of Councillors electoral system that would end the opposition's two-week-old boycott of the Diet in protest against the bill. The two camps failed to bridge their differences in a meeting presided over by Vice President Hisamitsu Sugano (C).

Upper house chief proposes compromise to end Diet impasse

TOKYO, Japan - House of Councillors President Juro Saito (C) on Oct. 16 proposes a compromise on a bill to revise the upper house electoral system in an effort to end the opposition's two-week-old boycott of the Diet in protest against the bill. Saito presented the compromise plan in a meeting with upper house representatives of the ruling and opposition parties, which was held in the Diet building.

Mori responds to opposition in Diet

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (standing) responds to a question from Naoto Kan (L), policy chief of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, during a meeting of the House of Representatives Budget Committee on Aug. 2. The opposition asked Mori how the government intends to respond to ailing companies seeking forgiveness of their outstanding loans. Failed department store operator Sogo Co. recently made such a request.

Diet enacts wiretapping legislation+

TOKYO, Japan - The House of Councillors passes into law Aug. 12 a set of bills that will allow law enforcement authorities to wiretap in investigations into organized crime. Opposition members throw their fists in protest while ruling coalition members clap hands in celebration.

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