Photo/Illutration A member of a group of Hong Kong residents living in Japan speaks at the inaugural meeting of a Diet group on July 29 that aims to enact a bill to sanction human rights violators in Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world. (Narumi Ota)

An all-party group of Japanese lawmakers has been formed to address human rights violations in connection with Beijing's sweeping new national security law imposed on Hong Kong.

The group held its inaugural meeting on July 29, where 24 lawmakers from the Upper and Lower Houses were on hand to discuss ideas for a bill to slap sanctions against individuals and organizations that have committed human rights abuses, including those in Hong Kong.

The group is co-led by Gen Nakatani, a former defense minister of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and Shiori Yamao, a legislator with the opposition Democratic Party for the People.

The bill envisages that Diet members can demand that the Cabinet open a probe into cases where gross human rights violations are suspected.

If a human rights violation is confirmed, Japan can sanction individuals and organizations involved in it by freezing their assets, denying their entry to Japan and ordering their deportation, according to the planned legislation.

The legislation is inspired by the United States’ Magnitsky Act. The act has imposed visa bans and other punitive measures against human rights offenders globally.

The act’s name originates from Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who accused Russian officials of being involved in sweeping tax fraud.

Magnitsky died in a Moscow prison in 2009 after complaining of mistreatment.

The U.S. Congress enacted other laws concerning human rights issues in Hong Kong and Uighurs last year based on the Magnitsky Act.

Britain and Canada have already passed Magnitsky-style laws.

“We need to establish a legal system (to sanction human rights offenders),” Yamao said at the meeting, adding such legislation will be a standard for a democratic country.

How to approach questions surrounding Hong Kong is a delicate issue in Japan.

Some LDP members attempted to adopt a party resolution requesting that Chinese President Xi Jinping not be allowed to visit Japan as a state guest.

But a party faction led by Toshihiro Nikai, the party’s secretary-general who has strong ties with Beijing, has opposed the move and the resolution was modified not to be taken as a consensus of the LDP.

Tokyo has expressed “regret” about the new security law imposed on Hong Kong. But it has yet to translate it into specific action.

The Japanese legislators hope to garner support for the legislation from many Diet members by targeting global human rights violations, not just Hong Kong, in an attempt not to provoke Chinese leaders.

Some legislators at the meeting called on the Japanese government not to cooperate with Chinese authorities over allegations of national security law violations and to ease visa restrictions for Hong Kong residents.

The meeting was also attended by a group of Hong Kong residents living in Japan, who pressed for Japan to establish a Magnitsky-style law.

In a video message, Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law hailed the newly founded Diet group.

He said it was greatly encouraging to gain support for activities protesting the new security law from politicians in Japan, which he said is an important member of democratic countries in Asia.

Hong Kong's national security law was enacted on June 30. Under the legislation, the Chinese government is setting up a "national security commission" in Hong Kong, a Beijing-operated surveillance organ, seen as a response to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations there.