Protests over the contentious state secrets bill continued Friday with unabated vigor even as its passage by the Diet appeared imminent.

As if to dovetail with the rising tone of criticism on the street, many citizens' groups issued statements blasting the bill.

Kenji Yamagishi, president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, expressed displeasure Thursday with the way the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe-led government has brushed aside deep public concerns to ram the bill through the Diet.