Advocacy groups ask Japanese government to rethink harsher anti-cannabis law
Advocacy groups submitted a written request to health minister Norihisa Tamura on Thursday asking the government to reconsider its plans to criminalize the use of cannabis, asserting the need for “support over punishment.”
The Japan Advocacy Network for Drug Policy claims a harsher Cannabis Control Law could deny both jobs and housing to those convicted of minor drug offenses, leading people into a “vicious cycle” of poverty and crime.
Possessing cannabis is illegal in Japan, but some farmers are licensed to cultivate it, as hemp has been used from ancient times for items such as shimenawa (sacred Japanese rope) at shrines.
But are no penalties for using cannabis because of the possibility that licensed growers may inhale cannabis particles during cultivation.
In February, the health ministry submitted test results to a panel of experts showing cannabis particles were not detected in people who grow hemp.
大麻について日本ではこれまでも栽培や所持が禁止されているのですが、新たに使用についても罰則が必要なのか議論が進められています。
厚生労働省が立ち上げた「大麻等の薬物対策の在り方検討会」。
これまで大麻を原料とした医薬品の導入を進めるなどの意見が出た一方で今、検討が始まり、議論を呼んでいるのが大麻使用罪の創設です。
近年、急増する大麻事件による検挙。今月も・・・。
乾燥大麻を手に交番に自首する男は、その様子をユーチューブでライブ配信。大麻取締法違反の疑いで現行犯逮捕されましたが、これらはすべて大麻を栽培したり、所持していた容疑での逮捕です。
実は、現在の法律では吸引など使用に関しての罰則はないのです。
そんななか始まった大麻使用罪の検討。ツイッターでは「使用罪は抑止力になる」「むしろ治療や相談の体制が大事」「所持と栽培の罪を重くすればいいのでは?」との声が。
AP - Nov 26
Top diplomats from Japan and China met for bilateral talks Saturday as they try to resolve disputes including China's ban on Japanese seafood that has badly hit Japanese exporters.
Reuters - Nov 25
Japan passed on Friday an extra budget worth around 13.1 trillion yen ($88 billion) aimed at helping households cope with the rising cost of living and corporations boost domestic investment, even amid concerns over the country's worsening finances.
News On Japan - Nov 23
Japan hosted the "Self-Defense Forces Joint Exercise," from October 10, attended by the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and the U.S. military. JNN reports on Japan's only elite unit, the 1st Airborne Brigade, during their training.
The Diplomat - Nov 23
Japan’s biggest defense company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), has outlined plans for future growth through development investment in new major national defense projects, including standoff missiles and a joint next-generation fighter program with Britain and Italy.
NHK - Nov 22
North Korea's space agency says the country has launched a rocket carrying a military reconnaissance satellite and put it successfully into orbit.
Kyodo - Nov 22
A Japanese health ministry panel on Tuesday decided to ban HHCH, a synthetic cannabinoid, from Dec. 2 after many people who consumed gummies containing the compound had to go to the hospital.
dailymail.co.uk - Nov 22
The home of the US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel became the target of anti-Semitic vandals over the weekend who spray painted the word 'Nazis' on a fence outside his house in Michigan.
CNA - Nov 21
Japan has condemned the seizure of a Japanese-operated cargo ship by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, south of Israel.
AOL - Nov 19
Daisaku Ikeda, a former leader of Japan's influential Buddhist group Soka Gakkai, has died at the age of 95.
News On Japan - Nov 18
Edogawa Ward in Tokyo, which has the highest incidence of bicycle thefts in the city, announced the installation of 80 surveillance cameras in bicycle parking areas at private condominiums and other locations.
CCTV Video News Agency - Nov 18
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in San Francisco of the United States on Nov. 16, reaffirming the positioning of comprehensively advancing the strategic and mutually beneficial relations between China and Japan.
eurasiareview.com - Nov 18
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s inaugural two-day visit to Malaysia heralded a new strategic bulwark of defence and security criticality.
News On Japan - Nov 16
A car crashed into the barricades near the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo on Thursday morning, injuring a police officer.
NHK - Nov 15
Wednesday marks 46 years since a 13-year-old junior high school girl was kidnapped by North Korean agents.
NHK - Nov 14
Japan's government has approved the resignation of State Minister of Finance Kanda Kenji, who repeatedly failed to pay taxes for his company.
NHK - Nov 14
An NHK opinion poll shows the approval rate for the Cabinet of Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has fallen below 30 percent for the first time since he took office two years ago.