April 22, 2010
The Japanese government has appealed against a court order to disclose documents related to a secret Japan-US pact, saying that no such materials have been found.
The suit was filed by a group of academics, journalists and others over a secret payment made by Japan when Okinawa was returned by the United States in 1972.
The Tokyo District Court ruled on April 9th that the government should produce documents related to the agreement and pay compensation to the plaintiffs.
In its appeal on Thursday, the government said the court order was not based on the result of inquiries made by the foreign and finance ministries, which turned up no such documents.
The government said it is impossible to disclose papers that it does not possess.
But in March, a panel of experts appointed by Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada concluded that a secret pact existed in a broad sense. The experts said that the diplomatic record showed Japan had shouldered the cost of the Okinawa reversion.
2010/04/22 19:28(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
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