Why this form exists
Gikai Commons gathers what is said in local assemblies across Japan and makes it readable by anyone. If the committee that decides what is kept and how it is shown is seen as close to a particular party or vendor, the platform itself stops being trusted.
Article 8 of the charter therefore asks members to disclose their affiliations. Disclosure is not there to clear anyone of suspicion. It is there so that readers can judge for themselves. Having a relationship is not in itself a problem. Hiding one is.
What to write
The four items below are taken directly from Article 8.1 of the charter.
1. Political party affiliation
| Field | How to write it |
|---|---|
| Party name | Official name. For parties that have dissolved, the name at the time |
| Period | From year and month to year and month. "Present" if still a member |
| Role | Any office held. "Member" if none |
If you have never been affiliated, write "none." Do not leave it blank.
2. Public office held in the past five years
| Field | How to write it |
|---|---|
| Title | Assembly member, head of a local government, administrative commissioner, council member, and so on |
| Body | Official name of the local government or institution |
| Period | From year and month to year and month |
Membership of advisory councils and study groups counts as public office. Full-time or part-time does not matter. Unpaid positions count too.
3. Parties with a financial relationship in the past three years
Contracts, advisory roles, shareholdings, donations received — anyone you exchanged money with.
| Field | How to write it |
|---|---|
| Counterparty | Name of the organisation or individual |
| Type | Contract / advisory / shareholding / donation received / other |
| Period | From year and month to year and month |
| Size | Not the amount itself, but one of three bands |
The bands are: under 1 million yen / 1 million to under 10 million yen / 10 million yen or more. Do not write the amount itself. Publishing it in a form from which a member's own terms of business can be inferred goes beyond the purpose of disclosure.
For listed shares, disclose a holding of 1% or more of shares issued. For unlisted shares, disclose regardless of size.
4. Relationships with assembly-data businesses
Any business handling assembly minutes, proceedings, or member information. Not limited to the past three years — disclose every period in which a relationship existed.
| Field | How to write it |
|---|---|
| Business | Name of the organisation |
| Type | Officer / employee / contract / advisory / shareholding / other |
| Period | From year and month to year and month |
Disclosure here is broader than for the other three items, because this is where doubts about neutrality are most likely to arise.
This goes wider than the charter. Article 8.1 says "relationships with major incumbents in the parliamentary-data consulting sector." This form covers every business handling assembly data, major or not, because where "major" ends is a line that moves from person to person, and a relationship placed outside it stays hidden.
What happens to the disclosure
What is published
| Item | Published |
|---|---|
| Party affiliation | Party name and period |
| Public office | Title, body and period |
| Financial relationships | Counterparty, type, and size band. Periods rounded to the year |
| Assembly-data businesses | Everything |
Disclosures are published on the editorial committee page at the time of appointment.
When to file an update
File a revised form within 30 days if any of the following happens.
- You join a political party or take public office
- A new financial relationship arises
- A relationship with an assembly-data business begins or ends
Article 10 of the charter lists breach of the Article 8 disclosure duty as grounds for removal. Failing to file an update is itself a breach.
🔴 Joining a party or taking public office is not settled by filing an update. Article 10.4 lists joining a political party or assuming public office during the term as grounds for removal in its own right (loss of neutrality during the term). Filing the update is required separately from that procedure.
Recusal from votes
Article 8.2 excludes members with suspected conflicts of interest from votes on the matter. That covers votes where a disclosed counterparty is a party to the matter, and votes where a conflict is suspected even though no disclosed counterparty is involved. The recusal is recorded in the minutes and published in the transparency report.
When in doubt, recuse. Nothing is lost by recusing too often.
How to file
Send it to the secretariat by email. The layout is up to you, as long as it follows the headings above. If an item is hard to answer, contact the secretariat rather than leaving it blank.
Standing of this form
This is the "separately defined conflict of interest disclosure template" referred to in Article 8.1 of the charter. The secretariat may change the layout without going through the charter amendment procedure in Article 11. The items themselves are set by the charter, so removing an item requires amending the charter.
🔴 This wording was drafted on 2026-09-18. It was written before the editorial committee was formed and has not been reviewed by any member. It is to be confirmed at the first meeting and reissued as v1.1.