The Japan Times newsroom selected the following domestic news stories as the most important of 2017. Blast threat: An intermediate-range ballistic missile test is conducted by North Korea on May 14. | KNS / VIA KYODO 1. The tension builds: North Korea launched a spate of ...
Conspiracy theory becomes frightening reality for Japan
So-called conspiracy legislation massively expands the state's coercive powers, with few checks in place to prevent abuse.
Expert disputes Japan government claim that conspiracy bill needed to ratify U.N. treaty
Professor who drafted legislative guide for organized crime treaty says its focus is acts motivated by material gain, not terrorism.
Arrogant Abe disrespects U.N. and the press
What is with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's arrogant disrespect for the United Nations?
DP plays political hardball in bid to slow passage of conspiracy bill
In a last-ditch effort to block the enactment of a contentious bill to criminalize conspiracies, the Democratic Party submitted Tuesday a motion to the Upper House calling for the removal of Kozo Akino, the chairperson of the chamber's Judicial Committee. The move immediately froze the ...
Japan close to ushering in new wave of mass surveillance, Snowden warns
Edward Snowden, who exposed the existence of highly invasive U.S. surveillance programs in 2013, warned this week that Japan might be moving closer to achieving sweeping surveillance of ordinary citizens with a bill that gives the police highly invasive surveillance powers in the name ...
Abe government clashes with U.N. rapporteurs critical of Japan
Weeks after a U.N. special rapporteur released a surprise open letter slamming a state-backed conspiracy bill that critics warn could erode privacy and free speech rights, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has shown no sign of letting up on its targeting of ...
Conspiracy bill will set Japan up for replay of Yokohama Incident, journalists warn
With the Diet poised to outlaw the planning of crimes, a former TV director and a film journalist are speaking out against the contentious conspiracy bill, urging the public to remember the lessons of the Yokohama Incident — a fatal case of political repression ...
Dozens of local governments across Japan voice concerns over conspiracy bill
As a contentious and now internationally controversial bill to criminalize conspiracies faces stiffening opposition in the Diet, dozens of local governments nationwide are voicing concerns, warning against possible human rights violations and the rise of a surveillance state. Since March, nearly 50 local governments from ...
Lawmakers ram conspiracy bill through Lower House as U.N. expert slams Tokyo
As the bill moved forward, a heated war of words broke out between Tokyo and a United Nations expert on privacy.
Legal experts decry state's false rationale for conspiracy bill
With the state-sponsored conspiracy bill widely expected to be rammed through the House of Representatives next week, experts are blasting the government for attempting to justify its passage by bringing up a U.N. treaty that Japan hasn't ratified yet. The government has argued that its ...
Ruling bloc shoves conspiracy bill through Lower House judiciary panel
A contentious conspiracy bill criticized for its Orwellian implications begins a weakly opposed journey through the Lower House, driven by the LDP-Komeito ruling bloc.
