The Tokyo District Court ruled on Jan. 25 that the Foreign Ministry’s denial of a passport to journalist Jumpei Yasuda, based on Turkey’s entry ban against him, is illegal.

Yasuda, 49, was detained by an armed group in Syria in 2015 while covering the civil war there.

After his release in 2018, he returned to Japan via Turkey and applied for a new passport.

Following these incidents, Turkey banned Yasuda from entering the country.

The Foreign Ministry refused to issue him a passport based on a provision in the Passport Law that “allows restricting issuance to those who are not permitted entry by the laws of their destination countries.”

However, the Tokyo District Court said that denying Yasuda a passport prevents him from traveling to other countries in addition to Turkey and its neighbors.

It ruled that this exceeds the foreign minister’s discretion and ordered the government’s denial to be revoked.

‘TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL’

In the lawsuit, the plaintiff's side argued that passport denial violates the Constitution, which stipulates the “freedom of overseas travel.”

Judges first said that the freedom of overseas travel “goes beyond economic freedom. It provides opportunities for personal development through experiences and discovery abroad, and thus has aspects of mental freedom.”

They said passport restrictions “are limited to cases that are rational and unavoidable.”

The ruling stated that the purpose of the Passport Law’s provision is “to maintain trust between Japan and the country that denied entry.”

It said that restricting travel to the concerned country or a third nation that might affect that country’s interests is rational and not unconstitutional.

Although the government argued that restricting a person’s travel to all countries is rational if needed to maintain international order, the court disagreed.

The court said that the provision cannot be applied in this case since Japan’s system can issue a passport for limited destinations.

It added that travel to countries other than Turkey and its neighboring nations “would not harm the trusting relationship between Tokyo and Ankara.”

The court decided that denying a passport, which would restrict all international travel, is illegal and should be revoked.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “We will examine the content of the ruling and decide how to respond.”

FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT

Following the ruling, Yasuda said at a news conference that the government’s refusal to issue him a passport “felt like I was denied my humanity and half of my life.”

As a freelance journalist, he reported on the bloodiest situations in conflict zones, including indiscriminate bombings.

While he has continued to cover these stories, he has been unable to conduct overseas reporting since 2018.

“Freedom of movement should not be restricted by the government. This should be obvious, but it wasn’t,” he said.

Yasuda said that in conflict zones, even employees of private companies can be forced to leave, adding, “This is not just about me or reporting in conflict zones. The question is, is it right for the government to decide whether to issue passports based on its own discretion?”

Yasuda’s lawyer, Makoto Iwai, said, “The court’s order to revoke the (government’s) denial holds great significance.”

But he expressed dissatisfaction that the court did not recognize that the provision restricting travel was unconstitutional.

“Without a passport, people cannot go to other countries. This is an absolute restriction of rights,” Iwai said.

He intends to appeal to a higher court.

ANOTHER JOURNALIST LOSES

On Jan. 19, journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka, who planned to cover stories in Yemen, lost a case seeking to revoke the Foreign Ministry’s order for him to return his passport.

The Tokyo District Court ruled that Tsuneoka is subject to a restriction of passport issuance under the Passport Law.

Tsuneoka was denied entry to neighboring Oman on his way to Yemen in January 2019.

After that, the Foreign Ministry ordered him to return his passport based on the provision of the law that “allows restricting issuance to those who are not permitted entry by the laws of their destination countries.”

“Reporting and news coverage are important for the foundation of democracy,” Tsuneoka said at a news conference following the ruling.

“If the travel ban prevents us from conducting interviews, we will be unable to provide people with the information that will help them make decisions,” he said.