Japanese lawmakers have started debating a bill that would regulate donations to religious entities. They include the group formerly known as the Unification Church.
The legislation would ban religious groups from soliciting donations in an unscrupulous manner. Opposition lawmakers want to revise the bill to ban donations that are made under the influence of so-called mind control.
Japan's Diet will debate a bill on Tuesday that could help people who have been exploited by the former Unification Church. It is meant to regulate efforts to solicit donations for religious groups.
The main ruling Liberal Democratic Party presented a revised draft of the bill after two opposition parties called for a more effective one. They want authorities to prevent religious corporations from collecting donations against people's will.
The Japanese government plans to hold an open debate on the rule of law at the UN headquarters in New York next month.
Japan will serve as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for two years starting in 2023. The country will chair the Council in January.
The Lower House of Japan's Diet has begun deliberating on a bill to revise the preventive vaccination law to secure vaccines for the coronavirus.
The bill would make coronavirus vaccinations free. If the vaccines are found to cause health problems, the government will pay for treatment.
Japan's main governing Liberal Democratic Party has begun debate on how the Science Council of Japan, the country's top academic body, should be organized.
A working group of the LDP met on Wednesday to discuss Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide's refusal to appoint six new members to the council. The six candidates were among those recommended by the body for membership.
The three candidates running for the leadership of Japan's main governing Liberal Democratic Party took part in a public debate in Tokyo on Saturday. The winner of the leadership race is set to be the successor to outgoing Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide, former LDP Secretary-General Ishiba Shigeru, and LDP policy chief Kishida Fumio discussed topics including a special law to deal with the coronavirus, diplomacy and national security.
The head of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, has urged Japan to launch discussions on whether to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
ICAN won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its contribution to the adoption of the treaty.
Following the declaration of a state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo plans to express his intention to bring up the topic of emergency response in the Diet's debate on constitutional issues.
Sunday marks the 73rd anniversary of Japan's Constitution coming into effect. The prime minister plans to deliver a video message to an online forum held by a group seeking to amend the Constitution. Prior to the event, the content of the message has been disclosed to the media.
Japan's lawmakers are deliberating a bill that would allow the prime minister to declare a state of emergency to tackle the coronavirus. It has passed one stage in the approval process.
The minister in charge of the legislation, Yasutoshi Nishimura, was asked in a Diet committee whether the government plans to declare an emergency soon.