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BILL

JAPAN / View from Osaka
Dec 14, 2013
State secrets bill shows Abe's tin ear for local politics
Former U.S. Speaker of the House Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, one of America's most influential politicians of the late 20th century, had some sage advice for those who thought about national or international politics. "All politics," O'Neill warned, "is local."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 7, 2013
Passage of contentious secrets law ends extra Diet session
The extraordinary Diet session effectively closed Saturday morning after the House of Councilors enacted the state secrecy law despite raucous protests from the opposition camp.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 6, 2013
Diet enacts controversial state secrets bill
The Upper House passes the state secrets bill despite soaring opposition over the lack of an independent oversight body to check the government's decisions.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2013
Protests over secrets bill fiery at 11th hour
Citizens' groups continue to blast the state secrets bill with unabated vigor amid concerns that 'merely seeking secret information' could put journalists at risk.
EDITORIALS
Dec 6, 2013
Government without oversight
Even if the state secrets bill becomes a law, it will be important for people to continue grass-roots movements to oppose it and to prevent from being used to curb their right to know and to express their thought and opinions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 5, 2013
Secrets bill clears panel by force
The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling coalition was set to forcibly pass the contentious state secrecy bill into law as early as Thursday night, after it rammed the legislation through the Upper House Special Committee on National Security earlier on the day.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2013
Protesters voice alarm over state secrets bill
More than 1,200 protesters gathered outside the Diet building Thursday in a last-ditch effort to thwart the controversial state secrets bill, which the Diet is expected to pass Friday.
EDITORIALS
Dec 4, 2013
Ishiba validates secrecy bill fears
In his recent criticism of public demonstrations near the Diet building by those opposed to the secrecy bill, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba validated concerns that the bill could be used to silence citizens who express certain political opinions or demands.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2013
Opposition takes final swipe at bill
The ruling bloc and the opposition camp face off again over the contentious state secrets bill, even though it appears headed for passage by the Upper House before the Diet session ends Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 3, 2013
Fast-tracked secrecy bill riles opposition
The ruling coalition forces through a vote to hold a mandatory public hearing on the state secrets bill without giving opposition lawmakers a chance to speak.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 3, 2013
Japan's secrets bill turns journalists into terrorists
The Japanese public supports Prime Ministe Shinzo Abe's bid to defeat deflation and stand up to China, but it's not with him on the secrecy bill.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2013
Public protests continue against state secrets bill
With the contentious state secrets bill slated to clear the Upper House this week, citizens have been holding daily protests in front of the Diet building, denouncing the law as emblematic of the "rise of fascism."
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 2013
The politics of secrets
Flip-flops in government explanations of the contentious bill for protecting state secrets — now under deliberation in the Upper House — suggest that the government itself does not have a clear idea of how it plans to prevent the arbitrary designation of information as a special secret.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 2, 2013
Ishiba softens criticism of bill protesters
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba remains critical of public demonstrations despite retracting part of an earlier comment likening protesters to terrorists.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 30, 2013
The secret of keeping official secrets secret
"He that would keep a secret must keep it secret that he hath a secret to keep," says Sir Humphrey Appleby, permanent secretary to the Department of Administrative Affairs, a fictitious branch of the British government. He is one of the main characters in the highly acclaimed 1980s BBC television series...
Japan Times
JAPAN / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Nov 30, 2013
Japan: The new Uzbekistan of press freedom in Asia
If you're living in Japan, you may be surprised to know that your right to know has been replaced by the right to remain silent. Shhh ... don't protest. It's practically a done deal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 30, 2013
Skepticism engulfs secrecy bill
As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government rammed the controversial state secrecy bill through the Lower House last week, what seemed to become evident is that even his Cabinet ministers lack a coherent understanding of the content, breeding even more skepticism among the public.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 26, 2013
State secrecy bill could have a chilling effect on reporting
The state secrecy bill currently before the Diet could have a chilling effect on news reporting in Japan.

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