A wiretapping consultant on Wednesday told a group of suprapartisan legislators opposing bills to allow wiretapping by law enforcement officers that police will abuse their authority if the bills are enacted.
Masayuki Fujii, president of Towa Tsushinsha Co., said some investigators told him they had installed bugs without court authority or the permission of their bosses.
For more than 10 years, Fujii has worked as a professional wiretapping consultant to detect bugs for clients who fear their conversations are tapped.
In some cases, police have consulted with him about tapping techniques related to crime investigations, he said. About 10 percent of the bugs he has discovered may have been installed by police, Fujii said. "Even now, investigators can use bugs for investigations if they have a court warrant, although painstaking procedures are involved," he said. "If the bills are approved, it would be much easier (for police to wiretap)."
The group of lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party is opposing the bills being discussed in the current Diet session.
In a hearing Monday, the group heard from a retired engineer who allegedly developed wiretapping devices for police.
Lower House Lawmaker Tomio Sakagami from the DPJ said after Wednesday's session he felt strongly that the bill would only enhance the situation of Japan as a "wiretapping paradise."