NEWSWORTHY
U.N. body urges Japan to improve protection of press freedoms amid secrecy law concerns
A U.N. body on Thursday called on Japan to take steps to better protect press freedoms as concerns about the country's laws aimed at curtailing leaks of state secrets could hinder the work of journalists. In another of the 218 nonlegally binding recommendations on Japan's ...
Japan, rights expert trade barbs over Tokyo's record on freedom of expression
A senior Japanese diplomat and a U.N. rights expert traded barbs Monday at the U.N. Human Rights Council over a report released in May that criticized Tokyo's record on freedom of opinion and expression. David Kaye, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to freedom ...
Lower House panel warns against overuse of state secrecy law
A Lower House panel has voiced concern about the classification procedures of state secrets, warning that the nation's controversial secrecy law was being overused. In a report released on Wednesday, the intelligence surveillance panel stopped short of issuing official recommendations, saying its comments were simply ...
Amnesty slams Japan's contentious secrecy law, low acceptance of refugees
The watchdog’s report for 2015 says Japan has displayed an “intolerance of public criticism” with the introduction of a contentious new secrecy law.
U.N. expert on freedom of expression to visit Japan in April
A U.N. expert in charge of freedom of expression, whose visit was postponed at the Foreign Ministry's request, will visit Japan in April, the ministry said Wednesday. David Kaye, U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and ...
Tokyo cancels U.N. freedom of expression expert's visit; supporters cite secrecy law scrutiny
The U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of expression says Tokyo has canceled his upcoming visit, raising suspicions it is reluctant to endure critical scrutiny of its new secrecy law.
State secrecy law takes effect amid protests, concerns over press freedom
Hundreds of protester took to the streets in Tokyo as the measure, which critics say is open to abuse and imperils the public’s right to know, came into force.
Along with the bread and butter issues of the economy, voters are urged to take a serious look at the Abe administration's actions in the areas of defense and freedom of information over the past two years.
The ruling coalition's bill to set up a Diet committee to oversee government designations of "state secrets" needs drastic revision as it does not give the committee effective power to rectify classifications.
Secrets law far too wide-reaching: U.S. expert
The new state secrets law is so broad that it's self-defeating and must be amended before it comes into force in December or it will have a chilling effect on free speech, according to U.S. national security and civil liberties expert Morton Halperin. Halperin said ...
The Japanese government has so far failed to give meaningful reassurances about how the reactionary and potentially dangerous state secrets law, rammed through the Japanese Diet in December, will operate.
An expert council for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be able to serve as a minor check against the arbitrary application of the new state secrets law, but the the defects of the law will remain.
