The spirit of Japan's new state secrets law may officially be about protecting national security by restricting the release of information about defense and diplomacy, or keeping information needed to prevent terrorist attacks and "specified harmful activities" confidential.
However, the new law, which took effect Dec. 10, is not just applicable to bureaucrats and major defense-related firms. Lawyers warn the letter of the law, and especially the required background checks on those handling state secrets, could impact a broad range of academic research as well.
The government had named 382 subject areas as state secrets requiring protection under the law.