September 6, 2013

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s cabinet plans to submit to the extraordinary session of the Diet this fall a bill to protect “secret information”. While this move is said to be based on a need to prevent leaks of secret national information, its true aim is obviously to cover the eyes of citizens and media.

The outline of the bill, which was recently released by the cabinet, suggests that national public servants who were found to have leaked “secret information” be sentenced to prison terms up to 10 years maximum. The term is much longer than the one year set under the national public service law and the five years under the Self-Defense Forces law. The bill could also give a five-year sentence to private sector workers who are tasked to deal with “secret information.”

The bill may also threaten the freedom of the press as it suggests the need to punish journalists who try to obtain information from authorities who have access to “secret information”.

This bill to protect “secret information” is in accordance with the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) the government concluded with the U.S. in 2007.

In the U.S., the anti-espionage law imposes a 10-year maximum sentence on those who violated the law. Under the GSOMIA, the U.S. government requires Japan to set the same degree of punishment in order to share its state secrets with Japan.

In addition to the violation of citizens’ right to know under the proposed law, Prime Minister Abe is trying to change the government interpretation of the Constitution so that Japan can jointly exercise the right to collective self-defense with the U.S. worldwide.

Japanese citizens have the bitter-prewar history in which the restriction of citizens’ right to know by the government and military led to the nation’s war of aggression against other Asian countries. To block the passage of the latest bill is essential in order to never allow the repeat of the dark days of the pre-war period.