Case No. 1

Case No. 62 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of non-disclosure of administrative documents (Case 1)

Case No. 63 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of non-disclosure of held personal information (Case 2)

Second party

Plaintiff: (1st Case) Kengo Aihara and 165 others

(2nd Incident) Sadamichi Ashina and 5 others

Defendant: (1st Case) Government (Administrative agency that administered the case: Secretary-General of the Cabinet Secretariat, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Cabinet Office, Secretary-General of the Science Council of Japan, Cabinet Office)

(2nd Case) Government (Administrative Agency Imposing Disposition: Secretary-General for General Affairs of the Cabinet Secretariat, Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary, Director-General for Cabinet Intelligence, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Cabinet Office)

Third, an open date

1. Date and time: Friday, May 16, 2025, 14:30-Progress consultation, 15:00-Oral argument

2 Court: Tokyo District Court No. 103 (Civil Division 38 B2 Section)

3 Judges: Makoto Kamano, Yuki Shimura, Daimu Nakagawa (replacement)

Part 4: Parties and representatives attending

1 Plaintiff

Plaintiffs: (First Case) Akio Komorita, Gen Hirawa, Naoko Miyakoshi, Jinya Yaju, Shinjiro Hiramatsu

(Case 2) Yoko Kato

(1st and 2nd Cases) Masanori Okada , Ryuichi Ozawa

Attorneys: Mamoru Fukuda, Hiroshi Miyake, Yoko Yonekura, Norio Minami, Kyoko Oe, Makiko Sekimori, Nobuharu Kamiya, Wataru Tsujita, Chiaki Miyake (also plaintiffs in the first case), Yuichi Oyama, Yuki Anzai ( 11 people/ 11 people)

2 Defendant: (Agent)

Part 5: Contents of the hearing

1. Renewal of arguments

The judge was replaced by new Judge Ikebe Taiki, so the arguments were updated and both parties confirmed that their arguments and evidence remained the same as before.

2 Submitted documents, etc.

Plaintiff: Presented briefs (5) and (6). Submitted a request for clarification.

Defendant: Statement of preliminary document (6)

3 Documentary evidence

Plaintiff: Submitted a copy of Exhibit A84, copies of Exhibit B49 and 50, and the originals of Exhibit B51 to 57, and were examined.

4. Passing of deadline

Attorney Yonekura presented a summary of the plaintiff's preparatory brief (5).

Attorney Oyama presented a summary of the plaintiff's preparatory brief (6).

Plaintiff Okada stated the gist of his request for clarification.

5. Subsequent dates

(1) Next hearing date: Tuesday, July 29, 2025

A. Progress consultation: 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. (closed to the public)

Oral arguments: 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (open to the public)

(2) Next hearing date: Wednesday, October 1, 2025

A. Progress consultation: 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. (closed to the public)

Oral arguments: 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (open to the public)

*All cases are in Courtroom 103 of the Tokyo District Court.

6 Document submission deadline

(1) July 18, 2025 (Friday)

A. Plaintiff: Rebuttal to Defendant's Preparatory Brief (6)

Supplementary Arguments Concerning Deficiencies in the Statement of Reasons

Defendant: Responses to Plaintiff's Preparatory Briefs (5) and (6)

Consider how to respond to the plaintiff's request for clarification (but at least provide an answer regarding the location of the documents).

7. Other

This time, too, a press conference was held at the Judicial Press Club from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m. after the end of the hearing, with plaintiffs Okada, Ozawa, Kato, and Komorita, as well as their attorney Yonekura, taking the stage, and attorney Oyama acting as moderator.

Section 6: Future progress

Plaintiff will submit a rebuttal to Defendant’s Preparatory Brief (6) and a supplementary statement of claim by July 18th of this year.

The defendant will consider how to respond to the preparatory briefs submitted by the plaintiff and to the plaintiff's request for clarification.

1. Case number

Case No. 62 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of administrative document non-disclosure disposition (Case 1)

Case No. 63 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of non-disclosure of held personal information (Case 2)

2. Parties

Plaintiff: (1st Case) Kengo Aihara and 165 others

(2nd Incident) Sadamichi Ashina and 5 others

Defendant: (1st Case) Government (Administrative agency that administered the case: Secretary-General of the Cabinet Secretariat, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Cabinet Office, Secretary-General of the Science Council of Japan, Cabinet Office)

(2nd Case) Government (Administrative Agency Imposing Disposition: Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Secretary-General, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Cabinet Intelligence Director-General, Cabinet Secretariat, Chief Cabinet Secretary)

3. Open Date

(1) Date and Time: Friday, February 28, 2025, from 3:30 p.m. to the conference, from 4:00 p.m. to the oral argument

(2) Court: Tokyo District Court, Courtroom 103 (Civil Division 38, Section B2)

(3) Judges: Masataka Kamano, Yuki Shimura, Kentaro Tsuzuki

4. Parties and representatives in attendance

(1) Plaintiff

Plaintiffs: (First Case) Mutsuko Asakura, Akio Komorita, Hidehiko Kobe, Gen Heiwa, Toru Niwa, Naoko Miyakoshi, and Hitoshi Yajie

(Second Case) Yoko Kato

(1st and 2nd Cases) Masanori Okada, Ryuichi Ozawa, Takaaki Matsumiya

Attorneys: Mamoru Fukuda, Hiroshi Miyake, Yoko Yonekura, Norio Minami, Kyoko Oe, Makiko Sekimori, Nobuji Kamiya, Wataru Tsujita, Chiaki Miyake (also plaintiffs in the first case), Yuichi Oyama, Yuki Anzai (11 people/11 people)

(2) Defendant: (Agent)

5. Details of the date

(1) Documents to be submitted

Defendant: Presenting brief (5)

Plaintiff: Presents the preparatory document (3) with the correction of "Article 32" to "Article 23" on page 4, line 10 from the bottom, and the preparatory document (4) with the correction of "Cabinet Office Headquarters Administrative Document Management Rules" to "Administration", "Cabinet Secretariat Cabinet Secretary" to "Cabinet Office Chief Cabinet Secretary" on page 36, line 10, and "Cabinet successor" to "Prime Minister" on page 41, line 5.

(2) Documentary evidence

Plaintiff: Copies of Exhibit A76-1 to 81, and originals 82 and 83 were submitted and examined.

(3) Passing of deadline

Attorney Fukuda presented a summary of the plaintiff's preparatory brief (3).

Attorney Yonekura presented a summary of the plaintiff's preparatory brief (4).

It has been confirmed that the subject of requests for clarification ③④ on page 61 of the Plaintiff's Preparatory Brief (4) is Schedule 3Ch of the Undisclosed Parts of the Complaint in Case 1, and is limited to the part of Exhibit A65 other than the names and titles of the Plaintiffs in Case 2.

(4) Subsequent dates

A. Next hearing date: Friday, May 16, 2025

(A) Progress consultation: 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. (closed to the public)

(b) Oral arguments: 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (open to the public)

B. Next hearing date: Tuesday, July 29, 2025

(A) Progress consultation: 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. (closed to the public)

(b) Oral arguments: 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (open to the public)

*All cases are in Courtroom 103 of the Tokyo District Court.

(5) Deadline for submission of documents

A. Monday, May 12, 2025

(A) Plaintiff: Statement of rebuttal regarding damages in the first case

Written rebuttal regarding the second case

(a) Defendant: Review of rebuttals to Plaintiff's Preparatory Brief (3) and (4)

Consideration of the necessity of replying to the plaintiff's request for clarification

Examination of the submission of evidence of the text of the Cabinet Secretariat Document Handling Rules and the Cabinet Office Headquarters Administrative Document Management Rules at the time of the disposition in question

6. Other

This time, too, a press conference was held at the Judicial Press Club from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m. after the end of the hearing, with plaintiffs Okada, Ozawa, Kato, and Matsumiya, as well as their attorney Fukuda, taking the stage, and attorney Yonekura acting as moderator.

7. Future progress

The plaintiff will submit its argument for damages in the first case and its rebuttal in the second case by May 12th of this year.

The defendant will consider whether it needs to refute the briefs submitted by the plaintiff and whether it needs to respond to the plaintiff's request for clarification. It has not yet been decided whether the defendant will submit any documents.

1. Case number

Case No. 62 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of non-disclosure of administrative documents (Case 1)

Case No. 63 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of non-disclosure of held personal information (Case 2)

2. Parties

Plaintiff: (1st Case) Kengo Aihara and 165 others

(2nd Incident) Sadamichi Ashina and 5 others

Defendant: (First Case) State (Administrative agency that imposed the decision: Secretary-General of the Cabinet Secretariat, Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Cabinet Office, Secretary-General of the Science Council of Japan, Cabinet Office)

(2nd Case) Government (Administrative Agency Imposing Disposition: Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Secretary-General, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Cabinet Intelligence Director-General, Cabinet Secretariat, Chief Cabinet Secretary)

3. Open Date

(1) Date and Time: Tuesday, November 26, 2024, 11:00 a.m. - Progress consultation, 11:30 a.m. - Oral argument

(2) Court: Tokyo District Court, Courtroom 103 (Civil Division 38, Section B2)

(3) Judges: Masataka Kamano, Yuki Shimura, Kentaro Tsuzuki

4. Parties and representatives in attendance

(1) Plaintiff

Plaintiffs: Case 1 Mutsuko Asakura, Akio Komorita, Gen Heiwa, Kanako Takayama, Shinjiro Hiramatsu, Naoko Miyakoshi, and Hitoshi Yajie

Cases 1 and 2 by Masanori Okada

The Second Case: Yoko Kato

Attorneys: Hiroshi Miyake, Yoko Yonekura, Norio Minami, Yuichi Oyama, Nobuya Kamiya, Wataru Tsujita, Chiaki Miyake (also plaintiffs in the first case), Makiko Sekimori, Yuki Anzai

(2) Defendant: (Representative)

5. Details of the date

(1) Documents to be submitted

Defendant: Preparatory brief (4) (Response to request for clarification)

Plaintiff: Presents preparatory brief (2)

(2) Passing of deadline

A. Statement of the gist of preparatory briefs

Plaintiff's attorney, Yoko Yonekura, presented a summary of Plaintiff's Preparatory Brief (2).

B. Exercise of the right to explanation

The presiding judge asked the defendant the following questions regarding the matters requested for clarification in the plaintiff's preparatory brief (2):

Regarding the matter requested for clarification A, the defendant’s preparatory document (4) states that “Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Sugita consulted with Prime Minister Kan regarding the appointment of 99 people but excluding the six plaintiffs in the second case, and Prime Minister Kan directly decided to approve the contents.” Is it correct to understand this as meaning that there was a consultation and decision to exclude the six specific individuals, “the six plaintiffs in the second case”?

② Regarding the matters G and K for which clarification is requested, is it correct to understand that the court does not possess any documents related to the disclosure request from the plaintiffs other than the documents that have already been disclosed?

Regarding the matters requested for clarification H, I, and J, these are requests regarding the authority to manage documents, and we would like the court to consider responding.

C. Defendant's response

In response to the judge's request for clarification, the defendant replied as follows:

Regarding the matter requested for clarification A, as stated in the defendant's preparatory brief (4), consultations were held and decisions were made regarding six specific individuals, "the six plaintiffs in the second case."

② Concerning the matters requested for clarification G and K, we are as you have pointed out.

③ We will consider the matters requested for clarification H, I, and J. We will notify the court within two weeks of the expected date for the submission of the preparatory briefs.

As for the remaining points requested for clarification, they have already been set out in the preparatory documents, and we believe that no further response is necessary.

(3) Subsequent dates

A. Next hearing date: Friday, February 28, 2025

(A) Progress consultation: From 3:30 p.m.

(a) Oral arguments: 4 p.m.

*All cases are in Courtroom 103 of the Tokyo District Court.

B. Next hearing date: Friday, May 16, 2025

(A) Progress consultation: From 2:30 p.m.

(a) Oral arguments: From 3:00 p.m.

*All cases are in Courtroom 103 of the Tokyo District Court.

(4) Deadline for submission of documents, etc.

Friday, December 10, 2024: Defendant notifies H, I, and J of the time frame for their response to the requests for clarification

Friday, February 21, 2025 Plaintiff Preparatory Document

6. Other

After the hearing ended at 12:30 p.m., a press conference was held at the Judicial Press Club.

7. Future progress

Following the defendant's response to the requests for clarification, the plaintiff plans to make any rebuttals possible by the next hearing.

1. Case number

Case No. 62 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of non-disclosure of administrative documents (Case 1)

Case No. 63 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of non-disclosure of held personal information (Case 2)

2. Parties

Plaintiff: (1st Case) Kengo Aihara and 165 others

(2nd Incident) Sadamichi Ashina and 5 others

Defendant: (First Case) State (Administrative agency that imposed the decision: Secretary-General of the Cabinet Secretariat, Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Cabinet Office, Secretary-General of the Science Council of Japan, Cabinet Office)

(2nd Case) Government (Administrative Agency Imposing Disposition: Secretary-General for General Affairs of the Cabinet Secretariat, Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary, Director-General for Cabinet Intelligence, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Cabinet Office)

3. Open Date

(1) Date and Time: Tuesday, September 17, 2024, from 3:30 p.m. to the conference, from 4:00 p.m. to the oral argument

(2) Court: Tokyo District Court, Courtroom 103 (Civil Division 38, Section B2)

(3) Judges: Masataka Kamano, Yuki Shimura, Kentaro Tsuzuki

4. Parties and representatives in attendance

(1) Plaintiff

Plaintiffs: Case 1 Mutsuko Asakura, Akio Komorita, Gen Heiwa, Shinjiro Hiramatsu, and Jinya Yae

Cases 1 and 2 Masanori Okada, Ryuichi Ozawa

The Second Case Yoko Kato

Attorneys: Mamoru Fukuda, Hiroshi Miyake, Yoko Yonekura, Norio Minami, Kyoko Oe, Makiko Sekimori, Yuichi Oyama, Nobuya Kamiya, Wataru Tsujita, Chiaki Miyake (also plaintiffs in the first case), Yuki Anzai

(2) Defendant: (Representative)

5. Details of the date

(1) Documents to be submitted

Defendant: Presenting brief (3)

Plaintiff: Presents brief (1)

(2) Documentary evidence

Defendant: Submitted Exhibit A13. A copy was examined.

(3) Passing of deadline

Plaintiff's attorney, Yoko Yonekura, presented a summary of Plaintiff's Preparatory Brief (1).

(4) Subsequent dates

A. Next hearing date: Tuesday, November 26, 2024

(A) Progress consultation: From 11:00 a.m. (closed to the public)

(b) Oral arguments: 11:30 a.m. (open to the public)

*All cases are in Courtroom 103 of the Tokyo District Court.

B. Next hearing date: Friday, February 28, 2025

(A) Progress consultation: From 3:30 p.m.

(a) Oral arguments: 4 p.m.

(5) Deadline for submission of documents

Tuesday, November 19, 2024 Defendant Preparatory Document

6. Other

Once again, a press conference was held at the Judicial Press Club after the hearing, starting at 5 p.m. Plaintiffs Okada and Ozawa, as well as attorneys Fukuda, Miyake Hiroshi, and Yonekura, took to the stage, with attorney Oyama acting as moderator.

7. Future progress

The defendant plans to respond to the request for clarification set out in the plaintiff's preparatory brief (1) by the next hearing.

The plaintiff plans to file a response to the defendant's reply by the next hearing.

1. Case number

Case No. 62 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of non-disclosure of administrative documents (Case 1)

Case No. 63 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of non-disclosure of held personal information (Case 2)

2. Parties

Plaintiff: (1st Case) Kengo Aihara and 165 others

(2nd Incident) Sadamichi Ashina and 5 others

Defendant: (First Case) State (Administrative agency that imposed the decision: Secretary-General of the Cabinet Secretariat, Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Cabinet Office, Secretary-General of the Science Council of Japan, Cabinet Office)

(2nd Case) Government (Administrative Agency Imposing Disposition: Cabinet Secretariat, Cabinet Secretary-General, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Cabinet Intelligence Director-General, Cabinet Secretariat, Chief Cabinet Secretary)

3. Open Date

(1) Date and Time: Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 11:00 a.m. - Progress consultation, 11:30 a.m. - Oral argument

(2) Court: Tokyo District Court, Courtroom 803 (Civil Division 38, Section B2)

(3) Judges: Masataka Kamano, Yuki Shimura, Kentaro Tsuzuki

4. Parties and representatives in attendance

(1) Plaintiff

Plaintiffs in the second case: Masanori Okada (also plaintiffs in the first case), Yoko Kato

First case plaintiff: Akio Komorita

Attorneys: Mamoru Fukuda, Hiroshi Miyake, Yoko Yonekura, Norio Minami, Kyoko Oe, Makiko Sekimori, Nobuji Kamiya, Wataru Tsujita, Chiaki Miyake (also plaintiffs in the first case), Yuki Anzai

(2) Defendant: (Agent)

5. Details of the date

(1) Documents to be submitted

Defendant: (Case 1) Presented preparatory brief (1)

(Case 2) Presenting preparatory brief (2)

(2) Documentary evidence

Defendant: Submitted Exhibits A1 to 12 and Exhibit B1 to 6. Copies of both were examined.

(3) Passing of deadline

The plaintiff, Komorita Akio, himself stated his opinion.

(4) Subsequent dates

A. Next hearing date: Tuesday, September 17, 2024

(A) Progress consultation: 3:30-4:00 p.m. (closed to the public)

(b) Oral arguments: 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (open to the public)

*All cases are in Courtroom 103 of the Tokyo District Court.

B. Next hearing date: Tuesday, November 26, 2024

(A) Progress consultation: From 11:00 a.m.

(a) Oral arguments: 11:30 a.m.

(5) Deadline for submission of documents

A. July 23, 2024 (Tuesday) Plaintiff's petition for clarification

September 6, 2024 (Friday) Defendant's Preparatory Brief

September 10, 2024 (Tuesday) Plaintiff's Preparatory Brief

6. Other

This time, the press conference was held at the Judicial Press Club from 12:30 to 13:00 after the end of the hearing. Plaintiffs Okada, Kato, and Komorita, as well as the attorneys for Fukuda and Miyake Hiroshi, appeared on stage, and Yonekura acted as the moderator.

7. Future progress

The plaintiff will file a petition for clarification against the defendant within one week of the hearing.

The defendant will submit a written response to the matters for which the court requested clarification during the progress consultation, as well as the matters requested by the plaintiff, by September 6th of this year.

The plaintiff will submit a counterargument to the defendant's preparatory briefs (1) and (2) at least one week before the next hearing. The counterargument will include all matters that cannot be asserted without waiting for the defendant's response to the request for clarification.

1. Case number

Case No. 62 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of non-disclosure of administrative documents (Case 1)

Case No. 63 of 2024 (Gyo-u) Request for cancellation of non-disclosure of held personal information (Case 2)

2. Parties

Plaintiff: (1st Case) Kengo Aihara and 165 others

(2nd Incident) Sadamichi Ashina and 5 others

Defendant: (First Case) State (Administrative agency that imposed the decision: Secretary-General of the Cabinet Secretariat, Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Cabinet Office, Secretary-General of the Science Council of Japan, Cabinet Office)

(2nd Case) Government (Administrative Agency Imposing Disposition: Secretary-General for General Affairs of the Cabinet Secretariat, Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary, Director-General for Cabinet Intelligence, Chief Cabinet Secretary of the Cabinet Office)

3. Open Date

(1) Date and time: Wednesday, May 29, 2024 from 10:30 to 11:00

(2) Court: Tokyo District Court, Courtroom 803 (Civil Division 38, Section B2)

(3) Judges: Masataka Kamano, Yuki Shimura, Kentaro Tsuzuki

4. Parties and representatives in attendance

(1) Plaintiff

Plaintiffs in the second case: Masanori Okada (also plaintiffs in the first case), Ryuichi Ozawa (also plaintiffs in the first case), Yoko Kato

Attorneys: Mamoru Fukuda, Hiroshi Miyake, Yoko Yonekura, Norio Minami, Makiko Sekimori, Yuichi Oyama, Nobuji Kamiya, Wataru Tsujita (also plaintiffs in the first case), Yuki Anzai

(2) Defendant: (Agent)

5. Details of the date

(1) Documents to be submitted

A. Plaintiff: (Case 1) Presents the complaint and the motion to amend the complaint

(Case 2) Statement of complaint and motion to amend complaint

B. Defendant: Statement of Answer

(2) Documentary evidence

Plaintiff: Submitted Exhibits A1 to 75 and B1 to 48. Copies of each were examined.

In addition, the court pointed out that the preparers of Exhibit A40-51 and Exhibit B11-13 were different from those stated in the evidence explanation document, and advised that the corrections would be made in the list of documentary evidence (the corrections were made to the Prime Minister, not to each administrative agency that made the decision. No request for correction by the plaintiff was required).

(3) Passing of deadline

A. Statement of opinion

The following plaintiffs and their attorneys submitted their opinions in the following order:

① Mamoru Fukuda (representative)

② Yoko Yonekura (agent)

③ Yoko Kato (Plaintiff in the Second Case)

④ Masanori Okada (Plaintiff in Cases 1 and 2)

B. Exercise of the right to explanation

The presiding judge instructed the defendant to take note of the following points when preparing his rebuttal:

① Regarding dispositions in which non-disclosure decisions are made on the grounds of non-existence, please clarify whether the reason for not possessing the information is physical non-existence or non-existence in interpretation.

If the item does not physically exist, please make a specific claim as to whether it was never created or acquired in the first place, or whether it was created or acquired but then discarded, etc.

② Submit guidelines for administrative document management, the Cabinet Secretariat's review criteria for dispositions based on the Information Disclosure Act, and the review criteria for the Cabinet Office headquarters at the time of the disposition.

③ The Cabinet Secretariat and the Cabinet Office should each clarify to whom authority over information disclosure has been delegated and what it is about, including the basis for the decisions made at the time.

(4) Next hearing date

A. Progress consultation: Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (closed to the public)

Oral Argument: Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Open to the public)

*All cases are in Courtroom 803 of the Tokyo District Court.

(5) Deadline for submission of documents

Friday, July 5, 2024 Defendant: First Preparatory Document

6. Other

- All 49 seats in the gallery were filled, excluding the three seats for reporters (no one was unable to get in). At least five members of Plaintiff No. 62 also attended the gallery, and numbered tickets were distributed in advance).

・11:30-12:30, press conference at the Judicial Press Club. Fukuda, Kato, Okada, Komorita, and Miyake Hiroshi appeared on stage, and Yonekura acted as MC.

7. Future progress

There will be no homework assigned to us until next time.

When Professor Kato and Professor Okada finished their statements, applause erupted from the audience. In response, the presiding judge said something along the lines of, "Please applaud in your hearts."

The court also requested the defendant to provide a detailed explanation, including a specific explanation as to why the documents did not exist and a clear indication of the basis for the disclosure of documents.

I would like to keep an eye on what kind of counterargument the defendant will give.