Japan Press Weekly

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2013 November 20 - 26 [POLITICS]

10,000 citizens rally in Tokyo to oppose state secrets bill

As the Diet situation is growing tense over a state secrets protection bill, about 10,000 citizens gathered in Tokyo on November 21 from around the country to block the passage of the bill.

The Hibiya Amphitheater, the venue for the rally, was already filled with people 30 minutes before the opening time. Many participants who were unable to enter the venue held gatherings independently outside the venue.

At the rally, Eto Yoichi, the acting chair of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations’ task force on secrecy legislation, said, “The JFBA has stood up as one body against the bill. Adding some amendments to the draft law doesn’t change its substance. We will strive to scrap the bill together with other organizations and individuals.”

A total of 14 parliamentarians of the Japanese Communist Party attended the assembly, including party chair Shii Kazuo. Shii stressed in his speech that not only public servants handling classified state information but also all of the general public can be penalized under such a law. He called on the participants to put pressure on the Abe government with mounting opposition to the bill, saying, “Concealing state information from the public and deceiving them with false information resulted in Japan’s past war of aggression. We must learn from this bitter lesson of history.”

Social Democratic Party Chair Yoshida Tadatomo, lawmakers of the Democratic Party, and independents delivered speeches as well.

After the rally, the participants paraded on the streets toward the Diet building holding up banners reading, “Hiding state secrets is a first step to war,” and “Democratic state needs no secrecy legislation.”

A photographer from Shizuoka City said, “We cannot allow a return to the dark age in which people were banned from taking pictures.”

On that day, similar rallies and demonstrations took place in 14 locations across Japan, such as in Aomori, Aichi, and Fukui prefectures.

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Secrets bill bulldozed through
November 27, 2013

The ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties and the Your Party on November 26 used their majority in the House of Representatives to bulldoze through a controversial state secrets bill in defiance of growing public criticisms and concerns.

The bill was sent to the House of Councilors.