Discover records of visits to the official residence! However ... August 22 15:41
When and who visited the Prime Minister's official residence for what purpose
It turns out that there is a document that can be used as a clue to know it.
Initially a valuable document that was almost disclosed by the information disclosure. However, suddenly it turned black. What happened?
The official residence visitor record “does not exist”…
In the Prime Minister's office, the news companies have a reporter and interview people who come and go there every day. If you're reading this article, you've probably seen the "Prime Movement" section in the newspaper.
The official residence is the best decision-making body in Japan. It is indispensable to verify when and when a certain policy is decided. So I'm doing this kind of interview.
However, there are at least four entrances to the official residence grounds, making it difficult to keep track of all visitors. In some cases, there are secret requests for visits.
Is there any way to grasp it somehow? The Mainichi Shimbun used this method.
In April, they requested information disclosure for about one year of records such as explanatory materials and minutes used in the interview between Prime Minister Abe and the executives of ministries.
However, all respondents reported that they were “absent”. Later, the official residence explained that such interview records were not left as official residences.
Is it difficult to grasp the movement of the official residence?
There is a document "Notification of official residence visit reservation"
However, it has been found that there is a record that is a clue to the “interview”.
We obtained Yukiko Miki, director of the NPO “Information Clearing House” in Tokyo.
Mr. Miki is an expert who has worked for many years to ensure the importance of recording through information disclosure and the right to know. He appealed for the preservation of official documents, and secured materials by information disclosure so that they would not be discarded again.
That is the document “Notification of Official Residence Visit”.
When visiting the official residence, reservations are made in advance, and verification with the ID and identity verification are also performed. It is this "official residence visit reservation notice" that is created during the procedure.
“When I knew that there was a notification of a visit to the official residence in Kokugakuen, I first charged for one day (June 13th). This was the document that came out. I thought it would be a clue to see the movement of
This is the first public notice of the visit to the official residence on June 13, 2017.
Although partly blackened, three “Defense Equipment Officers” visit the official residence at “2:55 pm” for “explanation” to “secretary of Prime Minister Shimada” You can see that it was scheduled. Although it is a clerical document with facts written, it is important information because the interview record is “absent”.
There were 26 such documents per day.
I was actually visiting
In this visit reservation notice, the official residence explains that the retention period required by the official document management law etc. is "less than one year", and in fact it is handled as being discarded in one day.
So Miki billed 10 days using the method of billing before being discarded. The names of civilians and some of the destinations / purposes of visit were blacked out, but the names of the bureaucrats of each ministry and agency, the heads of local governments, and the names of employees were also disclosed.
The name was “reservation”, but when I asked the officials of the official residence, it was equal to “materials showing that I visited”. The disclosed document is marked with “done” at the end, indicating that the visit has been completed.
When I contacted several people whose names appear in the disclosed document, I admitted that I met with Prime Minister Abe and Deputy Secretary Nishimura on the date and time recorded.
Something that is not in the prime minister
The focus is on confirming when the meeting with the secretary who always attends the prime minister. This is not understood by "Prime Minister Movement".
From the disclosed document, it can be seen that executives of ministries and agencies go to the official residence every day for explanations and reports to the secretary. That number has risen to over 30 in just 10 days.
Miki talked about the significance of this document.
"When and who went to the official residence is like access to power, it is very important that such records are kept in place. Even if it is debated whether the visit was held at the official residence, as in the case of the problem of setting up the veterinary school at Kake Gakuen, if there is no record, the official residence will be able to say anything. "
“There haven't been many clues to date, but I found out that the appointments for visits contain information that can be used for discussion. I think it needs to be open to society.”
However! Turn black
Mr. Miki decided to make an information disclosure request almost every day in earnest from March.
However, the next document that came out was completely black. The names of ministries and bureaucrats that were disclosed twice before that were almost all undisclosed.
The reason for the non-disclosure was written as follows.
“The public may lead to illegal invasion into the Prime Minister's residence, which may facilitate the execution of crimes, which may hinder the maintenance of public safety and order, and the security of the Prime Minister ’s residence. May interfere with the proper performance of work related to
The material that has been disclosed twice has suddenly become black. Mr. Miki was also surprised that it was hard to understand the reasons for non-disclosures such as “having troubled security” even though the records had already been visited.
Why did it turn black?
When I asked Mr. Satoshi Nakai, counselor of the Cabinet General Affairs Office, who is in charge of document management of the official residence, he replied:
"Since the visit reservation notification is a document for conducting security work in the official residence, we judge whether there will be any obstacles to security.
When you ask that it seems to have reversed the decision on information disclosure once decided.
“Because we have n’t disclosed everything before, we ’ve decided that we ’ll give out what we ’ve put out in light of the Information Disclosure Law and not what we ca n’t put out. We think that each claim is different, so we looked at the timing, mode, and contents of the request, and judged each request. ''
"I changed the interpretation in the wrong direction"
How do you see this issue? When I talked with Professor Kazuhiro Hayakawa of Toyo University who is familiar with the management of public documents and information disclosure, I asked this question.
“I think that there is no difference in the recorded information, so I think that the value judgment of the official residence has changed. If you issue a document before the visit, it will be the reason for the non-disclosure, Since the document is published after the visit date, it will not cause an illegal intrusion at a later stage, and it will not interfere with security.
The government has to judge whether it is a non-disclosure, but it seems to have changed the interpretation of the law in the wrong direction. The attitude toward information disclosure is asked. "
On top of that, it is recommended that the storage that is currently being disposed of in a day needs to be reviewed.
“There is a concern that people who are involved in politics will talk about things that are different from the facts if they do not keep a record. This can lead to increased distrust of politics, I think it's necessary to leave the document for a certain period, rather than discard it in a day. "
A document that was supposed to be a valuable tool to know the trends of the official residence.
In the future, Miki will appeal the appeal against the decision of non-disclosure.
I would like to continue to cover this issue.