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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 000947 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL, L/LEI, EAP/J 
JUSTICE FOR CEOS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KOCI PREL JA
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH OPPOSITION LAWMAKERS TO DISCUSS CHILD 
PORNOGRAPHY 
 
TOKYO 00000947  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Our consciences demand that we do something about 
child pornography, the Ambassador told nine Democratic Party of 
Japan (DPJ) Diet members during an April 2 meeting.  Although some 
people raise questions about possible abuses of police power, the 
experience of the other six G8 countries that criminalize simple 
possession is testimony that these concerns are invalid.  Possession 
of other contraband is already illegal in Japan; child pornography 
should not be any different.  In addition, preventing the child 
abuse that is occurring every day is more important than preventing 
a hypothetical future abuse.  The DPJ is committed to protecting 
children, replied the Diet members, but many DPJ members are 
fervently opposed to increasing police power.  It will be difficult 
to convince some DPJ members that it is necessary to give extra 
investigative authority to the police, some of the legislators 
argued.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  One thing that demonstrates the child pornography epidemic is 
the number of times people have cited the material appearing on the 
internet, the Ambassador began.  In 1998, one U.S. cyber-tipline 
received 3,267 contacts about child pornography material.  That same 
line received 106,119 contacts in 2004.  Although the development of 
the internet has been a tremendous boon to business and commerce 
around the world, it has also allowed the explosion of the "dark 
side of life," allowing deviants to communicate with one another and 
feel like their behavior is normal.  We have to update our laws to 
meet this explosion, which is why the United States and most of the 
developed nations of the world have decided to criminalize the 
possession of child pornography.  When there is a market for child 
pornography, people will exploit more and more children to make 
money.  It is heartbreaking to think that children abused at an 
early age will have to grow up wondering when they might see their 
image again on the internet, the Ambassador continued, and it is 
difficult, if not impossible, for victims to ever fully heal from 
the experience. 
 
¶3.  Sometimes when people talk about crimes of morality, such as 
prostitution, gambling, or drug abuse, they refer to the crimes as 
victimless, but child pornography can never be a victimless crime, 
the Ambassador told the Diet members.  By definition, a child cannot 
give legal consent to engage in this kind of activity - child 
pornography always begins with a crime.  Those who possess it aid 
and abet those who would abuse our children.  "I don't believe that 
any of us would want something like this to happen to our children," 
said the Ambassador, "and our consciences demand that we do 
something about the problem."  Some people say that a law like this 
would be open to police abuse, and lawmakers must be sensitive in 
that area.  No one wants a criminal law to be an instrument of abuse 
to the population.  But those who talk about a possible future abuse 
forget that children are now abused every day as a result of there 
being no law. 
 
¶4.  The American people know that the United States is not perfect 
when it comes to child pornography, the Ambassador acknowledged.  We 
must all do something about it, as Americans, as Japanese, as 
citizens of the world.  We all have a future in our children, and a 
responsibility to protect those children, whatever their 
nationality.  During meetings with the Liberal Democratic Party and 
with the Komeito, there was the same sense of revulsion about child 
pornography, and the same desire to do something about it.  In the 
United States, this issue is above partisan politics, said the 
Ambassador, noting that he hoped it could be the same in Japan: an 
issue where members of all parties come together to try to do 
something to protect our children. 
 
¶5.  Asked by Councillor Masako Ohkawara how the Ambassador came to 
write his op-ed on child pornography, the Ambassador told her that 
it started when the Embassy Legal Attach mentioned the difficulty 
law enforcement officials and prosecutors had in enforcing child 
pornography law in Japan.  When the op-ed appeared in the paper, 
there was an immediate response across all parties.  "Nothing that 
I've done has made me prouder to be the representative of the 
American people than to get the response we did to the article," the 
Ambassador stated. 
 
¶6.  The DPJ is very concerned about police power, said 
Representative Yoko Komiyama.  During the more-than-ten years that 
she has worked on the issue, the legislation was reviewed several 
times via a supra-party process, but DPJ lawyer members advocated 
 
TOKYO 00000947  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
strongly against increasing police power.  During one such review in 
2004, the discussions became "flaming hot," but those who wanted to 
protect against police abuses outnumbered those who wanted to 
criminalize simple possession.  In addition, some people say that a 
person who unwillingly received child pornography or possessed just 
one magazine containing a child pornography image would be unfairly 
punished if possession were to be criminalized.  Komiyama asked if 
there are any safeguards that can be put in place to prevent these 
problems. 
 
¶7.  The fact that the six G8 countries that have criminalized simple 
possession are not experiencing police abuse is testimony that 
people can be protected against unintentional acts, the Ambassador 
replied.  Intent is necessary for a criminal law to be violated.  It 
is not a violation if someone is sent child pornography by accident 
or mistake.  On the other hand, it would be a violation if that 
person solicited the child pornography on the internet or bought the 
magazine at the store.  In those cases, both elements of the crime 
are present: the act of buying, and the mental state of intent. 
When people talk about this concern, they have not thought through 
what police abuse is, the Ambassador stated. 
 
¶8.  "I was one of the people opposed to making simple possession 
illegal," Councillor Keiko Chiba told the Ambassador.  Hopefully the 
Diet can revise the law to better protect the rights of children, 
she said, thanking the Ambassador for pointing out that it is 
possible to prevent police from abusing their power.  DPJ members 
who want to criminalize possession must come up with good responses 
to the concerns that their colleagues will raise, Chiba noted. 
Japanese police have a long history of abuse, added Councillor Mieko 
Kamimoto, including violence, forced confessions, and the conviction 
of innocent people.  Many Japanese people are worried about 
investing more power in the police. 
 
¶9.  In the United States, the rights of children take precedence 
over the possible abuse of police power, Embassy Tokyo Legal Attach 
pointed out.  Child Pornography is considered to be contraband just 
like illegal guns or drugs.  The same measures are in place to 
prevent abuses in child pornography cases as there are for other 
forms of contraband: cases are reviewed by judges, prosecutors, and 
juries, and intent must always be proved.  We also worry about the 
rights of the individual in the United States, but in practice, 
police don't go after people with one or two images.  They go after 
those who have hundreds of images, which they catalog and review; 
it's their hobby or business.  One important safeguard is the 
careful definition of child pornography.  Another is the vigorous 
review of laws, a system which also exists in Japan, the Legal 
Attach pointed out. 
 
¶10.  The possession of other contraband is already prohibited in 
Japan today, the Ambassador added, and there is no discussion of 
police abuse of those laws.  Why should child pornography be any 
different?  We must be concerned and sensitive from the standpoint 
of protecting rights, but we also have to be realistic.  Children 
are being abused today.  While people are concerned at what might 
happen if a law is passed, crimes are being committed today because 
there is no law.  The idea that protecting people from police abuse 
is more important than protecting children is a view that is not 
shared by many countries.  Police already have many chances to abuse 
their authority.  Meanwhile victimized children have to worry that 
they will see themselves being abused by an adult every time they 
turn on the internet for the rest of their life. 
 
¶11.  During a meeting with the National Police Agency (NPA), police 
officials said that in practice, Japanese law punishes many types of 
child pornography crime, said Kamimoto.  The NPA reports that they 
handle more than 100 cases each year, and that a law criminalizing 
simple possession is not necessary to fight child pornography. 
Councillor Emiko Uematsu asked if the U.S. side could provide any 
examples of how U.S.-Japan cooperation has not been successful due 
to the lack of a child pornography law. 
 
¶12.  Every year the Embassy has passed cases to Japanese police, 
requesting that they open an investigation, replied Embassy Legal 
Attach.  The Embassy enjoys very good cooperation with the police 
on many issues, but Japanese law enforcement officials always tell 
the Embassy that without a law banning simple possession, they 
cannot participate in investigations.  The most important goal of 
 
TOKYO 00000947  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
international investigations is to find producers and rescue 
children.  One recent bust involved five countries and 14 U.S. 
states, and saved 20 children from further abuse.  Now that the 
internet is a part of our life, wherever you live world-wide, child 
pornography requires international cooperation to address, agreed 
Uematsu. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶13.  The most important issue is that we start from the position 
that we are going to protect children, said Representative Masayo 
Tanabu, committing to galvanize opinions within the party.  If the 
DPJ supports the initiative, it will pass, replied the Ambassador. 
"That would be a proud day for every political party, a proud day 
for both Japanese and Americans," he finished. 
 
¶14.  The following participants were present: 
 
United States: 
Ambassador J. Thomas Schieffer 
Political Minister Counselor Mike Meserve 
Legal Attach Larry Futa 
ICE Attach Mike Cox 
Political Officer Scott Hansen 
Interpreter Fumiko Gregg 
 
Japan: 
¶C. Keiko Chiba - 4th term; lawyer; Chair of the Project Team to 
consider revision to the anti-child pornography law; DPJ 
Administration Committee Chair 
Rep. Yoko Komiyama - 3rd term in the Lower House, served in the 
Upper House for one term; DPJ "Next Cabinet" Minister of Education; 
Deputy Chair of the Project Team to counter illegal and harmful 
websites 
¶C. Mieko Kamimoto - 2nd term; DPJ "Next Cabinet" Minister for State 
of Children and Gender Equality 
Rep. Miho Takai - 2nd term; Secretary-General of the Project Team to 
counter illegal and harmful websites. 
Rep. Masayo Tanabu - 2nd term; member of LH Special Committee on the 
Youth and Related Issues 
¶C. Masako Okawara - 1st term; served formerly as a Tokyo Prefecture 
assembly member for ten years 
¶C. Hiroe Makiyama - 1st term; received J.D. from Thomas M. Cooley 
Law School; Passed bar exam in NY and Connecticut states. 
¶C. Yumiko Himei - 1st term; judicial solicitor 
¶C. Emiko Uematsu; 1st term