Post date: Nov 26, 2013 2:14:24 PM
The Japanese parliament passes a state secret law despite strong public opposition.
TOKYO, JAPAN (NOVEMBER 26, 2013) (REUTERS) - Japan on Tuesday (November 26) moved closer towards a law that would expand the definition of state secrets and raise penalties for leaks, a provision critics say will block access to information on sensitive areas, including the nuclear industry.
Parliament's lower house approved the state secrets act after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party agreed last week to revisions with small, conservative opposition parties.The bill now goes before parliament's upper house, where it is likely to pass without difficulty.
Abe's government says the law is vital to his plan to create a U.S.-style National Security Council to coordinate security and foreign policies and persuade foreign countries such as Tokyo's close ally, the United States, to share information.
"With the deterioration of our security environment these days, it is imperative that we the place utmost importance to information gathering to protect our citizens and our security," he said during a committee meeting earlier in the day.
According to opinion polls, more voters oppose the bill than back it. Nearly 63 percent of respondents to a Kyodo news agency survey last weekend expressed concerned about its provisions.
Under the law, public servants or others cleared for access to state secrets could be jailed up to 10 years for leaks.
Journalists and others in the private sector convicted of abetting such leaks could get up to five years if they use "grossly inappropriate" means to solicit the information.
Top officials in all ministries will be able to designate special state secrets in four categories - defence, diplomacy, counter-terrorism and counter-espionage - that can be kept secret for up to 60 years and in some cases longer.
Included among those secrets could be information on the vulnerability of nuclear power plants - of keen interest to many Japanese after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster which forced some 160,000 from their homes.
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated against the legislation near parliament on Tuesday.
"This law is an evil law and we need to tell more people about how dangerous it is," said one protester, Hideki Osada.
Opponents of the legislation the law failed to address basic concerns on civil liberties and the public's right to know.
"This law is being passed rapidly without the people really understanding it, that is a problem. We should be voting on this law only once the people are fully aware of the content of this law, because I am also worried that this law will restrict the movement of the people and take away our right to know," said opposition legislator Shuji Ichihashi, who joined the protesters on the streets.
Media, publishers, lawyers and even actors and entertainers have denounced the law, which for some has conjured up memories of Japan's harsh state secrecy regime before and during World War Two.