Hit terrorists in pocketbook

The government has submitted to the Diet a bill for ratification of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, and a set of three bills for related legislation. The government aims to root out international terrorists by cutting their financial lifelines.

Twenty-one countries, including Britain and France, have already ratified the UN treaty, meaning that it needs ratification by just one more country to come into effect.

The treaty stipulates that a ratifying country should define the funding of terrorist acts as a crime under domestic law.

The related bills, including one to establish a new law to punish those who provide funds to terrorists, were submitted to the Diet in fulfillment of obligations under the treaty.

One of the bills seeks to revise the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law so that the sharing of information among Finance, Foreign and Justice ministries and the National Police Agency can be conducted smoothly to promptly carry out such measures as freezing terrorist-related assets.

The third bill is aimed at creating a new law to require financial institutions to identify individuals with whom they do business. The new law will also oblige financial institutions to report suspicious financial transactions to the authorities.

The treaty still has problems. Some advanced countries, including the United States, Germany and Italy, have been slow to ratify it, as have certain Southeast Asian, Central and South American and Middle Eastern countries that are suspected of having connections with terrorist funding.

Even the United States has been remarkably inactive when it comes to ratifying the treaty and developing necessary legislation. This is very irresponsible.

-- The Daily Yomiuri, Tokyo