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It was generally acknowledged by everyone that the 1973 law was in need of repeal so a coalition of over 100 animal groups joined together to begin planning and lobbying for this. However differences emerged within the coalition over what people wanted or expected. Some wanted experimental animals included in the new law. Getting a law before the Japanese Diet requires a lot of backroom lobbying of MPs from the ruling Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP). Since big business and politics go hand in hand in Japan, any talk of controlling the way pharmaceutical companies dealt with experimental animals was obviously an anathema to politians. In fact they said that unless the clause about experimental animals was dropped, they wouldn't co-operate at all. Unbeknown to the majority of coalition members, all of whom had paid a membership fee, secret negotiations took place between the 'well-known', well-in with the government' animal welfare groups and the LDP. They announced the new law (hardly debated) as passed, a fait accompli. Members of the coalition were furious at the way they had been passed over without any consultation. They were even more furious when they saw that the new law was virtually the same as the old one dressed up with a few cosmetic changes.
The small changes include a name change from Protection and Control to Doubutsu Aigo (Love Animals) Protection and Control Law and a raising of fines for cruelty. The only redeeming feature of the new law is that it has to come up for revision within 5 years, so we have three years to go. Whether an effective revision can indeed be realized, depends on the unity of opinion among animal welfare groups and getting sympathetic politicians working on our side.
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