The designation of government information as special secrets — whose leaks will be punishable by up to 10 years in prison — continues under the state secrets law that took effect last month.
However, the sole oversight mechanism outside of the administrative branch that the law provides for has yet to be launched in the Diet, which raises doubts if the government and lawmakers alike are serious about guarding against the arbitrary designation of state secrets.
Amid lingering concerns that it could infringe on people's right to know, the law — which enables heads of government ministries and agencies to classify government information in the areas of defense, diplomacy, counterterrorism and counterintelligence that are deemed to pose a serious threat to national security if leaked — was implemented on Dec. 10, a year after it was railroaded through the Diet by the Abe administration. By the end of last month, 382 sets of information were designated as secrets requiring protection under the law, including 247 subjects listed by the Defense Ministry and 49 others set by the Cabinet Secretariat, according to the government. It was earlier estimated that roughly 460,000 pieces of information would be subject to classification by the 19 government organs with powers to designate secrets.