(The original article in Japanese was posted on October 21, 2022)

 

It turned out that the Kobe Family Court had disposed of all records of the Kobe child assault and murder case committed by a then 14-year-old boy under the alias of “Seito (literally meaning "saint” in Chinese letter) Sakakibara,” occurred in 1997, which shook all of Japan, despite that the Supreme Court of Japan had issued a notice that “Records of cases that have great social impacts and high historical values and documents and data that contribute to researches and studies of juvenile delinquency shall be permanently archived.” The Kobe Family Court explained that they are “unsure about why and how the record was disposed of” and apologized for “inappropriate handling” of them, anyway.

The fact that the records of such an extremely serious incident had been discarded was surprising enough, but the response from the Supreme Court to the request for comment on the blunder was even totally unbelievable. According to new reports, the Supreme Court said, “We decline to comment on this issue,” and “It is no problem that the detail of the disposal is unclear.”

On October 6, Taro Kono, the Minister of Digital Affairs of Japan, announced that the Japanese government will abolish health insurance cards by the end of FY2024, and then My Number cards will take over the role of health insurance cards. Only 50% of people currently have and use My Number cards even though it has already been six and a half years since their introduction, which means that the government failed in proposing the convenience of the cards to encourage many people to have the cards. The government has decided to make the use of My Number cards compulsory, which is currently optional, because it has been too much frustrated by the slow progress. Apparently, the policy that has been implemented was unsuccessful. I wonder how much taxes have been invested in measures and activities to promote having My Number cards. 1.4 trillion yen was budgeted for the “MyNaPoints Part 2” project alone. Also, huge budgets have been invested in public relations and advertising. Has the government properly reviewed the details of massive amount of time lost and taxes used?

Moreover, the government’s response to the issues of the former Unification Church has been indecisive. I doubt that such a serious social responsibility for having been involved in activities of an organization notorious enough to let the leader of the country say, “We will no longer have any relationship with the organization,” and for continuously having enhanced its reliability can be avoided by simply suggesting such terms as “detailed explanation about the involvement” or “deep regret and sincere apology.” How can they ignorantly and dishonestly continue to act as if the unhealthy relationship with the organization has “never existed” in the first place? Since when have Japanese “adults” been like this?

Arguments and failures of measures are not the point. The vulnerability of our society is rooted in the atmosphere that approves ridiculing different opinions, silencing criticisms, selecting and seeing only favorable facts and escaping from unfavorable ones. This is not about a society of other countries but the Japanese society.

“Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground – the unborn of the future Nation.” (edited by Joseph Bruchac (1998), Still Go Your Way*, Merkmal Publisher) – This phrase has been inherited by Onondaga people, one tribe of Native Americans. We must not forget our responsibility to create history based on the “present” that can be proudly passed on to the future.

 

*The title, “Still Go Your Way”, is a translation by Yano Research Institute Ltd.

 

This Week’s Focus, October 21, 2022

Takashi Mizukoshi, the President