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May 05, 2024
 

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U S NATIONAL SECURITY

COMMENTARY / World
Nov 12, 2013
Media redirection waters down impact of dissent
The way U.S. media outlets chose to cover the anti-NSA march last month provides a fascinating window into a form of censorship they often use but we rarely notice: redirection.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 9, 2013
Weakness in intelligence rankles Germans
Germany's exposure to the NSA's prying eyes is a blunt reminder of its past aggression and humiliation long after the country has cleaned up its act. And this rankles Germans.
EDITORIALS
Nov 8, 2013
NSC and secrecy bills pose dangers
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy of 'proactive pacifism' must be stopped before it destroys the Constitution's war-renouncing principle and Japan's traditional defense-only posture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 8, 2013
Abe's security bill aims to shutter 'spy's paradise'
With the prime minister's Liberal Democrats in strong control of both legislative houses, a bill to undertake the long-overdue modernization of Japan's national-security governance is certain to pass.
EDITORIALS
Nov 7, 2013
The limits of surveillance
Whether the issue is NSA's mission or constitutional principles, the constraints placed on how intelligence services operate in a democratic society should reflect a consensus reached by its citizens.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 4, 2013
U.S. model not seen serving Japan's bid to keep its secrets
As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government pushes for a controversial new state secrets law, critics warn that the public's right to know will be greatly stifled because the bill, recently approved by the Cabinet, targets leakers of information the state deems critical to defense, diplomacy, terrorism and espionage.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2013
Yachi tapped to head new security council
Foreign policy adviser Shotaro Yachi has been asked to head up Japan's version of the U.S. National Security Council if the Diet backs its launch, government officials said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 25, 2013
Talks on body to deal with security begin
The Diet started deliberations Friday on a bill to establish a Japanese version of the U.S. National Security Council, an entity designed to enhance the government's ability to deal with national security and manage crises.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 22, 2013
Japan moves toward adopting tougher penalties for leakers
The Abe administration wants a tougher secrecy law that imposes a prison term of up to 10 years on leakers of "special secrets" concerning foreign and national policy, in line with its plan to create a Japanese version of the U.S. National Security Council. After Tuesday's agreement between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, New Komeito, the Cabinet will approve the bill Friday. It is then expected to sail through the Diet during the ongoing session that will run until Dec. 6. Abe told the Diet on Monday that confidentiality is "a prerequisite" for sharing intelligence with other countries and it is important to have the tougher secrecy law "to make full use of the NSC." The Diet is deliberating another bill to create the NSC, which will be designed to gather information and speed up decisions on foreign and national policy under the leadership of the prime minister's office. Initially, the bill to toughen the secrecy law did not refer to the public's right to know or freedom of the press. At the request of New Komeito, the administration decided to include provisions addressing these issues. Concerns remain, however, among experts that the legislation could discourage civil servants from talking to journalists and would infringe on citizens' right to information. They also argue that the law will make it easier for the government to withhold information by labeling it a "special secret." "Special secrets" are defined in the bill as information that any administrative agency chief would designate as affecting national security if leaked. Special secrets would keep that designation for up to 30 years, and the duration could be extended if approved by the Cabinet. The move toward about such legislation gained momentum after a Japan Coast Guard official posted a video online showing a collision in 2010 between two patrol ships and a Chinese fishing boat near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Despite mounting public pressure, the government was reluctant to release the video in view of the possible repercussions on Japan's ties with China, which had been strained by the incident.The ruling coalition approved a bill Tuesday to toughen penalties for anyone who leaks government secrets and in doing so harms national security.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 16, 2013
Kishida, Hague eye bolstered security ties
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and British Foreign Secretary William Hague agreed Wednesday to deepen bilateral security cooperation, especially in the fields of maritime, computers and outer space as well as counterterrorism.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 17, 2013
Abe plans to craft national security strategy by year-end
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to put together by year-end a comprehensive national security strategy that embodies Japan's basic defense and foreign policies, government officials revealed Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 5, 2013
Putin may be the only winner in Snowden affair
President Barack Obama's handling of the Snowden affair shows that the logic of security overrides that of civil rights. For a Nobel Peace Prize winner, that's disappointing.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2013
Focus on facts, not fear, in a public NSA debate
It's time for a meaningful public debate about how NSA's communications data collection programs actually operate, not just the potential dangers they may pose.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2013
Japan eyes creation of U.S.-style NSC by year's end
The government plans to set up an institution similar to the U.S. National Security Council as early as year's end to strengthen the leadership of the prime minister's office in crafting long-term security policy for the changing security environment in East Asia, government sources said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2013
End NSA's bulk collection of telephone records
Two Democratic U.S. senators express their belief that most Americans would agree that the White House should end the bulk collection of telephone records.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 29, 2013
Risks of limiting NSA's collection of phone data
There's a risk that Congress or the White House will impose constraints on the NSA that would reduce America's ability to protect itself against the next 9/11.
EDITORIALS
Jun 18, 2013
Will new 'NSC' enhance security?
Creating a Japanese version of the U.S. National Security Council would risk adding rigidity to the decision-making process during a national emergency.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 13, 2013
Is NSA's snooping worse than TSA's groping?
A former NSA contractor who washes up in a Chinese city-state to rail against the state of U.S. privacy doesn't hold a lot of credibility with many Americans.
JAPAN / Politics
May 10, 2013
Draft plan for national security council drawn up
A plan has been drafted to set up a national security council for the prime minister where four Cabinet ministers will meet to share top secret intelligence, government officials said Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 16, 2013
Abe launches panel to study Japan version of national security council
Shinzo Abe kicks off a study panel tasked with establishing a Japanese version of the U.S. National Security Council, vowing to enhance the flow of information while consolidating command.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

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