Govt submits bills on police cyber response, elections and tanker compensation

On October 16, the government submitted three bills to the House of Representatives: the Bill for Partial Amendment of the Police Duties Execution Act (Cabinet Bill No. 15), the Bill for the Act on Temporary Special Measures Concerning the Election Dates, etc., of Members and Heads of Local Public Entity Assemblies (Cabinet Bill No. 16), and the Bill for Partial Amendment of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Specific Indemnity Obligation Guarantee Contracts, etc., Related to Specific Tankers (Cabinet Bill No. 17). The Official Gazette (October 20, Reiwa 8) publicized these as submitted bills under the National Diet section, and they were listed in the table of contents for the same day as bills with their respective Cabinet Bill numbers. All three bills are currently awaiting committee deliberation.

The House of Representatives bill submission column of the Official Gazette lists these three bills alongside the Matter Seeking Approval for the Conclusion of the Agreement between Japan and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on Economic Cooperation, all submitted by the Cabinet on October 16. On the House of Councillors side, the bill receipt column noted that the agreement matter was sent for preliminary examination as Cabinet Treaty No. 1 on the same day. These three bills follow the group of salary and disaster compensation-related bills (Cabinet Bills No. 2 through No. 10) submitted on October 9.

Proposed Amendment to the Police Duties Execution Act: Influencing the Operation of Cyber Measures

• The current law, Article 6-2 of the Police Duties Execution Act (Act No. 136 of 1948), stipulates measures to prevent harm in cyberspace and the Cyber Harm Prevention Measure Execution Officer.
• On September 25, Reiwa 8, the National Public Safety Commission enacted National Public Safety Commission Rule No. 19 (Rule Concerning Notification to Administrators, etc.) based on Paragraph 8 of the same article, promulgated under the name of Chairperson Yasuhiro Nashi.
• The rule lists the following as notification items: the date the measure was taken, the IP address identifying the harmful electronic computer, an outline of the measure, and the affiliated organization of the execution officer.
• When an execution officer of a prefectural police force takes action, reporting through the Chief of Police is mandatory, and the involvement of the Director-General of the Kanto Regional Police Bureau is also stipulated.
• The text of the proposed amendment was not published in the Official Gazette; the specific scope of the amendment will become clear during future deliberations.

Proposed Temporary Special Measures Act on Election Dates: Scheduling Local Elections

• The subject is temporary special measures regarding the election dates, etc., of members and heads of local public entity assemblies.
• The Official Gazette listed only the name of the bill and did not specify the particular elections or dates subject to the special measures.
• Recently, the Nagano Prefectural Gubernatorial Election (held August 9, Shuichi Abe elected) and the Kagawa Prefectural Gubernatorial Election (held August 30, Toyohito Ikeda elected) were publicized in the local autonomy section of the Official Gazette; the adjustment of execution schedules directly impacts the election administration of local governments.

Proposed Amendment to the Specified Tanker Act: Ensuring Performance of Indemnity Security Contracts

• The target law is the Act on Special Measures Concerning Specified Indemnity Obligation Performance Security Contracts, etc. for Specified Tankers.
• On October 13, the Bill for the Act on Rationalization of the Use of Designated Waterways to Ensure Stable Transport of Crude Oil, etc. and the Bill for the Act on Special Measures Concerning Ensuring the Performance of Specified Cargo Insurance Contracts and Specified Vessel Insurance Contracts were submitted, marking a series of legislative actions regarding insurance and security for maritime transport.
• The security amounts and the scope of target vessels are not listed in the Official Gazette and will be finalized during Diet deliberations.

All three bills directly impact the operational rules of the police, local governments, and the shipping industry. Since the Official Gazette only publishes the names and numbers of the bills, practitioners must track the progress of committee deliberations and the subsequent establishment of cabinet orders, ministerial ordinances, and National Public Safety Commission rules after promulgation.

Sources

• Official Gazette, Tuesday, October 20, Year 8 of Reiwa; Diet Matters, House of Representatives, Submission of Bills
• Official Gazette, same date; Diet Matters, House of Councillors, Receipt of Bills (Preliminary Review)
• Official Gazette, same date; Table of Contents, Bills (Cabinet Bills No. 15, 16, and 17)
• Official Gazette, September 25, Year 8 of Reiwa; National Public Safety Commission Rule No. 19
• Official Gazette, October 15, Year 8 of Reiwa; Diet Matters, House of Representatives, Submission of Bills (submitted October 13)
• Official Gazette, October 14, Year 8 of Reiwa; Diet Matters, House of Representatives, Submission of Bills (submitted October 9)