A panel of private-sector experts has worked out a draft enforcement standard for the state secrets law, including creation of two oversight bodies and government sections that would accept whistle-blowers’ reports. Unfortunately, the setup falls far short of preventing arbitrary designation of government information as state secrets, which endangers the people’s right to know.
Because the proposed bodies will be staffed by bureaucrats, it will not be able to provide independent oversight against improper designation of state secrets, and no specific protection is provided for officials who reveal wrongdoings. As the Abe administration plans to put the law into force by yearend, the danger of limitless expansion of state secrets has not been eliminated.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.