When Hisashi Muto, a member of the JCLU, requested disclosure of the Supreme Court documents relating to the “declarationEmade by the highest court during the investigation of the famous Lockheed corruption case pursuant to the court's Basic Rules on Disclosure of Information in May 2001, a large part of the documents were denied disclosure or were classified as “nonexistent.E Muto, represented by 5 attorneys who are members of the JCLU's Disclosure of Information Committee, filed lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court in May 2002 claiming damages against the Japanese government for infringing his right to know.
This lawsuit has attracted attention as the first case where the disclosure of documents relating to the administration of justice is being questioned. The JCLU made a decision to support this lawsuit in June 2002.