Hundreds rally in Japan against secrecy law Hundreds of people have rallied across Japan to protest against a secrecy law which came into effect on Wednesday. The protesters, brandishing banners and beating drums, have been calling for the abolishment of the controversial law, which was swiftly passed by parliament on December 6th last year. The law aims at protecting state secrets, by granting more power to the government to classify information as such. In other words, it allows for the designation of special government information as secrets of the state. Whistle-blowers who give away state secrets can face up to 10 years in jail, and reporters who encourage someone to do so could also be imprisoned for five years. Japanese Prime Minister #ShinzoAbe has defended the legislation as essential to convince close allies, such as the United States, to share intelligence and strengthen defense cooperation with other countries. His government has also vowed to ensure the public’s freedom to information will not be compromised. However, not many seem very convinced by those arguments. Critics say that the implementation of the law could help conceal the government’s misdeeds, as well as limit press freedom. The protesters see the legislation as limiting public debates on national security issues. More critically, lawyers have been arguing that the legislation is too vague and broad, making it almost impossible to predict what conduct could breach it.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 13:05:00 +0000
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