Tag - state-secrets

 
 

STATE SECRETS

Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 3, 2018
Reuters reporters who exposed Myanmar military abuses are jailed for seven years
In a landmark case seen as a test of progress toward democracy in the Southeast Asian country, a Myanmar judge on Monday found two Reuters journalists guilty of breaching a law on state "secrets," sentencing them to seven years in prison.
EDITORIALS
Dec 7, 2015
State secrets law still deeply flawed
A year after it took effect, the serious flaws of the state secrets law remain unaddressed.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 29, 2015
Amid Ukraine denials, Putin orders Russian peacetime troop deaths be kept secret
President Vladimir Putin ordered on Thursday that the deaths of Russian soldiers during special operations in peacetime should be classified as a state secret, a move that comes as Moscow stands accused of sending troops to fight in eastern Ukraine.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2015
State secrets law could constrain researchers
The spirit of Japan's new state secrets law may officially be about protecting national security, but lawyers say it could affect a broad range of academic research as well.
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2014
Activist challenges secrets law with anonymous whistle-blower website
A Japanese Internet activist and academic is challenging the recently enacted state secrets law by setting up a website aimed at making it easier for government officials to leak sensitive information to the media without getting caught.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2014
Musical points to sinister nuclear implications
A recent court-themed musical staged in Tokyo was, to say the least, an audacious dig at the contentious state secrets law scheduled to take effect in December.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2014
Young protesters rap state secrets law as movement gains rhythm
"Don't give up the fight! Stand up for your right!"
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 26, 2014
More distrust, less harmony if law pits local patriarchs against Tokyo secrecy fetishists
With the state secrets law about to take effect, a fundamental question awaits: When is a “state” secret no longer merely national and starts to infringe upon “local” autonomy?
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Oct 26, 2014
Kansai's fears of new law no state secret
With less than two months to go until the new designated state secrets law comes into force, how, exactly, it will work in practice is the subject of extensive debate and concern. Much of the commentary focuses on how the fundamental rights of individuals will be affected.
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.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 4, 2014
Abe's reactionary leadership
The Japanese government has so far failed to give meaningful reassurances about how the reactionary and potentially dangerous state secrets law, rammed through the Japanese Diet in December, will operate.
JAPAN / YEAR IN REVIEW 2013
Dec 25, 2013
A look back at the year's top 10 Japan news stories
Japan Times editors selected the following domestic stories as the most important in 2013.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 14, 2013
TPP offers early test of how far secrets law will cow Japan's media
Journalist Toshihiro Yamanaka characterizes the TPP talks as 'the most secretive trade negotiations to take place since the end of the 19th century,' an observation supported by classified documents recently released by WikiLeaks showing how the U.S. is pressuring all countries involved in TPP to make sure details of the talks are kept from the public.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 14, 2013
Society struggles to adapt to post-privacy age
Individuals are visible as never before, and democratic governments, reeling from successive exposures of state secrets, are struggling desperately to withdraw into the shadows. No democracy has gone further in that direction than Japan under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
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 / Politics
Dec 12, 2013
Government to promulgate new secrets law quickly
The government will promulgate the contentious state secrets law Friday, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet will be tested in its ability to create viable independent overseers to check how the state classifies and declassifies information before the law takes effect within a year.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 11, 2013
Reporters who divulge secrets could face new law's wrath: Ishiba
Two days before the contentious state secrets law getting the official nod, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba waded into the fray Wednesday by saying journalists could be punished for reporting state-designated classified information, only to backpedal slightly.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 9, 2013
Secrets law bruises Abe's ratings
The Cabinet's sharp drop in the opinion polls shows that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might have expended too much of his political capital on enacting the state secrets law.
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.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji