Japan's State Secrets Law: Hailed By U.S., Denounced By Japanese

Earlier in December, the normally sedate Japanese Parliament disintegrated into chaos. Opposition party members screamed, pounded the speaker's desk and flapped papers in his face — but all in vain.

Japan's State Secrets Law: Hailed By U.S., Denounced By Japanese Japan_secrets_law7_slide-89e42720f2aac547e66b57a57fbfba785ad4f878-s6-c30

Japan's State Secrets Law: Hailed By U.S., Denounced By Japanese Japan_secrets_law7_slide-89e42720f2aac547e66b57a57fbfba785ad4f878-s6-c30

In a shocking display of brute force, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party, railroaded into law a sweeping, vague and hastily drafted secrets protection bill.

The tough new law intended to protect state secrets was a victory for Washington, which had long pressured its Asian ally to exert tighter control over classified information. But the controversial legislation has triggered widespread outrage in Japan and undermined the prime minister's popularity.

"If information about our jet fighters or warships were leaked, it would endanger Japan," Abe said later in a televised address. "To protect lives, we must prevent intelligence from reaching terrorists. To secure life and property, we had to enact the secrecy law as quickly as possible."

The penalties for violators are harsh: 10 years in prison for civil servants who leak classified information; five years for citizens convicted of abetting leaks. The law covers defense, diplomacy, counterterrorism and counterintelligence. But it also empowers bureaucrats — not just in defense, but throughout government — to lock away documents for up to 60 years.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/12/31/258655342/japans-state-secrets-law-hailed-by-u-s-denounced-by-japanese

Japan's State Secrets Law: Hailed By U.S., Denounced By Japanese

Japan's State Secrets Law: Hailed By U.S., Denounced By Japanese

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