Editorials Jun 15, 2017
'Conspiracy crime' bill railroaded through the Diet
The ruling coalition's decision to ram the contentious legislation through the Diet hardly seems like the right way to gain the public's support for it.
National / Politics Jun 15, 2017
Abe coalition rams contentious conspiracy bill through Diet
by Tomohiro Osaki
Brushing off a stern outcry from the opposition camp, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition rammed a contentious bill to criminalize conspiracy through the Diet Thursday morning, after it resorted to the extremely rare tactic of outright bypassing its committee-level approval. The enactment of ...
National / Crime & Legal Jun 1, 2017
One-time informant, arrested after working with police, sounds alarm on conspiracy bill
Kazuhiro Hara was arrested — and he lost customers — after tipping off police about a planned robbery and following a police request to assist preparations for the crime. Hara, a 45-year-old manager of a used car business in Saga is worried that others ...
National / Crime & Legal Mar 21, 2017
Controversial conspiracy bill approved by Abe Cabinet
by Daisuke Kikuchi
The Abe Cabinet approved a controversial bill that would revise the organized crime law so authorities can crack down on individuals and organizations who conspire to engage in serious criminal activity.
Editorials Feb 2, 2017
Penalizing the plotting of crimes
The government should not dismiss concerns that penalizing the act of plotting and preparing for crimes would entail placing society under greater surveillance
National / Politics Jan 19, 2017
Abe to pursue contentious law against criminal conspiracies from outset of Diet session
by Tomohiro Osaki
As this year’s ordinary Diet session kicks off Friday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to make waves yet again. His newest goal is to make conspiracies to commit crimes a punishable offense. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s renewed push for an anti-conspiracy law ...
Editorials Aug 31, 2016
A new name for old conspiracy bill
If passed, legislation that criminalizes the acts of plotting and preparing to commit crimes will lead to greater government surveillance.
National / Politics Nov 18, 2015
Japan lawmakers want to revisit controversial conspiracy law in wake of Paris attacks
by Reiji Yoshida
Several influential lawmakers have proposed adopting a previously rejected law that would give the government a stronger hand to address terrorism.
National / Crime & Legal Jan 14, 2015
Abe government won't submit conspiracy bill to upcoming Diet session
The Abe administration has decided not to submit to the upcoming Diet session a controversial bill aimed at punishing people involved in plotting serious crimes, government sources said on Wednesday. The government has so far presented bills to the Diet three times to revise ...
Editorials Jun 9, 2014
Creeping Orwellian angst
Legislative attempts to criminalize the act of "conspiracy" to commit some crimes as well as other government moves are enough to cause anxiety that Japan may be inching toward an Orwellian society.
Books / Reviews Apr 19, 2014
Yamato
by Elliott Samuels
In postwar Japan, a U.S. Army intelligence officer is found dead in his Tokyo apartment with a bullet in his skull. Military policemen declare it to be a suicide but CIA agent Ralph Carnaby and his Japanese-American sidekick, Dan Morita, uncover evidence that suggests ...
Commentary / World Mar 21, 2014
There's a conspiracy theory wherever you look
by Cass R. Sunstein
Whether it's Ukraine, the National Security Agency, assassinations of national leaders, recent economic crises, the authorship of Shakespeare's plays — some people jump at the chance to connect a bunch of dots to support a relevant conspiracy theory. Why is that?