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bananas

(27,509 posts) Thu Oct 24, 2013, 06:39 PM Oct 2013

Japan secrecy act stirs fears about press freedom, right to know

Source: Reuters

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is planning a state secrets act that critics say could curtail public access to information on a wide range of issues, including tensions with China and the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

The new law would dramatically expand the definition of official secrets and journalists convicted under it could be jailed for up to five years.

Japan's harsh state secrecy regime before and during World War Two has long made such legislation taboo, but the new law looks certain to be enacted since Abe's Liberal Democratic Party-led bloc has a comfortable majority in both houses of parliament and the opposition has been in disarray since he came to power last December.

Critics see parallels between the new law and Abe's drive to revise Japan's U.S.-drafted, post-war constitution to stress citizen's duties over civil rights, part of a conservative agenda that includes a stronger military and recasting Japan's wartime history with a less apologetic tone.

<snip>

"This may very well be Abe's true intention - cover-up of mistaken state actions regarding the Fukushima disaster and/or the necessity of nuclear power," said Sophia University political science professor Koichi Nakano.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.newsdaily.com/world/e466e4755f527f25d331e851132684ce/japan-secrecy-act-stirs-fears-about-press-freedom-right-to-know

12 replies

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Highlight:

Japan secrecy act stirs fears about press freedom, right to know (Original Post) bananas Oct 2013 OP

That's an ominous development. Uncle Joe Oct 2013 #1

It is ominous - here's a Reuters Special Report from May: The deeper agenda behind "Abenomics" bananas Oct 2013 #2

I wouldnt worry. Fukishima and the hare-brained plan to fix it will bring it all to a halt Katashi_itto Nov 2013 #11

Another blow to press freedom in England, too dixiegrrrrl Oct 2013 #3

Thanks, I think - it makes me want to puke ... bananas Oct 2013 #9

And just in time Berlin Expat Oct 2013 #4

So What Happened in Fukushima That They Don't Want Us to Know About? AndyTiedye Oct 2013 #5

Not good. K&R nt Mnemosyne Oct 2013 #6

K&R cprise Oct 2013 #7

Bad for everyone. True Blue Door Oct 2013 #8

Kick! cprise Nov 2013 #10

For clarification-- Art_from_Ark Nov 2013 #12

Uncle Joe

(58,366 posts)

1. That's an ominous development.

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Thu Oct 24, 2013, 06:50 PM

Oct 2013

Thanks for the thread, bananas.

bananas

(27,509 posts)

2. It is ominous - here's a Reuters Special Report from May: The deeper agenda behind "Abenomics"

Reply to Uncle Joe (Reply #1)

Thu Oct 24, 2013, 07:00 PM

Oct 2013

http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/05/24/japan-abe-idINDEE94N01P20130524

Special Report - The deeper agenda behind "Abenomics"

By Linda Sieg, Yuko Yoshikawa and Tetsushi Kajimoto
TOKYO | Fri May 24, 2013 8:03am IST

(Reuters) - When ill health and political gridlock forced Shinzo Abe to quit after one dismal year as Japan's prime minister, his pride was dented and his self-confidence battered.

One thing, however, was intact: his commitment to a controversial conservative agenda centered on rewriting Japan's constitution. Conservatives see the 1947 pacifist charter, never once altered, as embodying a liberal social order imposed by the U.S. Occupation after Japan's defeat in World War Two.

<snip>

Abe's unlikely comeback was engineered by a corps of politicians who called themselves the "True Conservatives," many of whom share his commitment to loosening constitutional constraints on the military and restoring traditional values such as group harmony and pride in Japanese culture and history.

<snip>

In the spring of 2012, Abe's allies prepared for a run at the LDP presidency. Much of the groundwork was laid by the True Conservatives Association, now renamed Sosei Japan (Japan Rebirth).

<snip>

The special report is also in pdf format: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/13/05/JapanAbe.pdf

The pdf has some extra graphics and might be easier to read than the "wall-of-text" html format.

Katashi_itto

(10,175 posts)

11. I wouldnt worry. Fukishima and the hare-brained plan to fix it will bring it all to a halt

Reply to bananas (Reply #2)

Mon Nov 4, 2013, 10:53 PM

Nov 2013

They will be more worried about trying to salvage some small part of the country.

Truly unfortunate whats going to happen.

dixiegrrrrl

(60,010 posts)

3. Another blow to press freedom in England, too

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Thu Oct 24, 2013, 07:08 PM

Oct 2013

Open letter to the Queen: Don't sign press charter and give enemies of free speech licence for repression
25 Oct 2013 00:00

Worldwide press groups have warned that the “toxic” Royal Charter could lead to a muzzling of the press worldwide

The proposed charter would create a recognition panel to oversee a new independent press self-regulation system.

Any newspapers which failed to sign up to regulators endorsed by the panel would leave themselves open to huge “exemplary” damages in court cases.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/open-letter-queen-dont-sign-2528665

bananas

(27,509 posts)

9. Thanks, I think - it makes me want to puke ...

Reply to dixiegrrrrl (Reply #3)

Thu Oct 31, 2013, 09:09 PM

Oct 2013

puking is natures way of eliminating toxic stuff ...

Berlin Expat

(950 posts)

4. And just in time

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Thu Oct 24, 2013, 07:19 PM

Oct 2013

for TEPCO's attempt to remove nuclear fuel rods from the Fukushima site.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/10/24-3

AndyTiedye

(23,500 posts)

5. So What Happened in Fukushima That They Don't Want Us to Know About?

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Thu Oct 24, 2013, 07:34 PM

Oct 2013

Mnemosyne

(21,363 posts)

6. Not good. K&R nt

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Thu Oct 24, 2013, 08:14 PM

Oct 2013

cprise

(8,445 posts)

7. K&R

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Thu Oct 31, 2013, 06:14 PM

Oct 2013

True Blue Door

(2,969 posts)

8. Bad for everyone.

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Thu Oct 31, 2013, 08:30 PM

Oct 2013

Not only would Japanese freedom be curtailed and open the door to resurgent authoritarianism, but it would complicate our relationship with them at a time when we're trying to build a stronger alliance to contain China. The other members of the alliance wouldn't tolerate a bellicose, re-militarized Japan, and nationalist elements within Japan despise our presence in the country.

cprise

(8,445 posts)

10. Kick!

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Mon Nov 4, 2013, 10:42 PM

Nov 2013

Art_from_Ark

(27,247 posts)

12. For clarification--

Reply to bananas (Original post)

Tue Nov 5, 2013, 03:45 AM

Nov 2013

It is not yet an "act" (="law&quot -- right now it is still just a bill. It will be deliberated in the Japanese Diet (Parliament) this week.

Here's a summary (in Japanese) and call to action.

http://www.labornetjp.org/news/2013/1383568679135staff01

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