Japan Press Weekly

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2014 November 5 - 11 [POLITICS]

Secrets law to allow PM to check secret info to suit gov’t need

Secrets “checking” organs to be established by the state secrecy law will provide a mechanism for the prime minister to check the validity of the designation of secret information which he himself designates as special secrets.

“It’ll be just a self-checking system,” said Nihi Sohei, a Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors, at a House Budget Committee meeting on November 4.

Nihi went on to say, “In other words, the prime minster can conceal whatever information from public eyes he wants to.”

The government is planning to create two entities to screen the designation of secrets and the declassification of secrets. One will have top ministry officials assist the prime minister to review information designated as secrets by the prime minister himself. The other will have officials appointed by the prime minister to referee the secrecy designation process.

Under the secrecy act, the prime minister, for example, can designate as secret some important information handled by the National Security Council, no matter how important they may be to the general public.

Nihi said, “It will be absolutely impossible for the two organs to check items objectively,” and again demanded that the law be repealed.