Japan Press Weekly

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2012 February 8 - 14 TOP3 [CIVIL RIGHTS]

Osaka Mayor Hashimoto conducts survey on municipal workers’ political beliefs

Osaka City Mayor Hashimoto Toru has conducted a survey on municipal workers’ political activities, infringing on their constitutional freedom of thought and conscience.

Published on February 9, the survey requires Osaka City employees to send back their answers by February 16. A letter, signed by the mayor and attached to the survey, states that it is not optional but compulsory for the workers to respond to the survey and that “those who submit inaccurate answers may be subject to punishment.”

Respondents are required to write their name and respond to 22 items, including whether or not they have participated in street speech assemblies or other activities to support a certain politician. Those who answer yes to the question must indicate if they took part in the activity based on their own decision or because they were asked to do so by others.

Those who answer yes to a question if they have been asked to vote for a certain politician have to indicate when and where they received such a request and from whom.

The Japanese Communist Party Osaka Prefectural Committee on February 13 published a statement in protest against this compulsory survey. Expressing that it goes against workers’ basic rights guaranteed in Article 28 of the Constitution, it demands an immediate halt to the imposition of the survey.

The Osaka branch of the Japan Federation of Prefectural and Municipal Workers' Unions (Jichiroren), the Osaka City Workers’ Union, and the Association for Democratic Law also published similar statements of protest.