Waving banners and beating drums, hundreds of Japanese took to the
streets of Tokyo to protest a strict new state-secrets law taking effect
on Wednesday that critics charge will help conceal government misdeeds
and limit press freedom.
The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the law, which was
passed a year ago amid protests, is essential to convince allies led by
the United States to share intelligence with Japan.
Critics counter that whistleblowing on government misdeeds will be
chilled. Reporters Without Borders has called the law “an unprecedented
threat to freedom of information”.
“This law will restrict the peoples’ right to know,” said Tomoki
Hiyama, one of about 800 people braving frigid winds to gather in the
shadow of the Diet on Tuesday. “It’s full of ambiguity and will take us
back to the ‘public peace and order’ controls of World War Two.”
The law mandates prison terms of up to 10 years for public servants
or others leaking state secrets, while journalists and others who
encourage such leaks could be imprisoned for five years. Kyodo news
agency said that some 460,000 documents would be affected immediately.
“The law says that the act of leaking itself is bad no matter what
the circumstances,” said Yukiko Miki at Clearinghouse Japan, a
non-profit organization that promotes information disclosure.
Two watchdog groups are to oversee implementation of the law, one
directed by the prime minister. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga
said the government would implement the law while assuring “the public’s
right to know isn’t infringed”.
Critics say Abe’s government failed to keep a pledge to win public
understanding of the law by not fully explaining how it will be
implemented. The Cabinet Office solicited public comment for a month
from late July until late August - during prime summer vacation time.
The Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association sent a letter
of concern to Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa on Monday, saying: “It
cannot be said that all our concerns have been alleviated.”
The uncertainty about what the government will deem a secret was
already having a repressive effect, Miki said. Her office has received
calls from bloggers worried about whether they should delete posts to
avoid prosecution.
“This is really too much,” said Hisako Ueno, 60, a retired teacher at
a Saturday protest. “It seems to allow Abe to do virtually anything by
saying ‘it’s for the good of the country’ without anybody knowing what
they are actually doing.”
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014.
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