As Japan greets the new year of 2014, the political situation surrounding the nation's citizens is not bright. This is primarily because the Abe administration and the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito on Dec. 6 forced the state secrets bill through the Diet and enacted it. People face the danger of the law undermining their right to know, freedom of the press and freedoms of thought, conscience and expression.

And this law goes hand in hand with the one that established the National Security Council. Since the NSC law does not require the keeping of minutes of NSC meetings, what the two laws mean is that the prime minister, the chief Cabinet secretary, the foreign minister and the defense minister can secretively make decisions that greatly affect the fate of the nation and all citizens.

This year the fundamental democratic principle that is declared in the preamble of the Constitution — that sovereign power resides with the people — will be tested. It will be all the more important for citizens to carefully monitor the nation's politics and carry out various efforts at the grass-roots level aimed at upholding their sovereignty.