Japan's civic space rating has been upgraded to reflect increased freedoms for civil society and peaceful protest, according to an annual international report released Wednesday.
The nonprofit alliance CIVICUS has elevated Japan’s civic space rating to “open,” the highest tier on its global rights index, placing it alongside nations such as Taiwan, Canada and Denmark. The report highlights that civil society groups and peaceful protesters in Japan now largely operate without significant restrictions, an improvement from its previous “narrowed” status.
The CIVICUS Monitor evaluates civic space in 198 countries and territories, rating freedom of expression, assembly and association as open, narrowed, obstructed, repressed or closed. In the Asia-Pacific region, this year’s report downgraded Mongolia to "obstructed" while upgrading Bangladesh, Japan and Fiji.
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