Japan’s Dangerous Anachronism - NYTimes.com
The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this month rammed through Parliament a state secrecy law that signals a fundamental alteration of the Japanese understanding of democracy. The law is vaguely worded and very broad, and it will allow government to make secret anything that it finds politically inconvenient.
Just before the passage of the law, the secretary general of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, Shigeru Ishiba, likened those legally demonstrating against the state secrecy law to terrorists in his blog on Nov. 29. This callous disregard of freedom of speech greatly raised suspicion of what the Abe government really has in mind.
The Japanese public clearly seems to fear that the law will infringe on press freedom and personal liberties. In a public opinion poll conducted by the Kyodo News Agency, 82 percent of respondents said that the law should be repealed or revised.
Mr. Abe is, however, arrogantly dismissive of the public’s concerns. “The law does not threaten ordinary life,” he said after the law’s passage. Showing an alarming ignorance of democracy, Gen Nakatani, a senior member of the Liberal Democratic Party, stated that “the affairs of government are distinct from the affairs of the people.”
The Liberal Democratic Party’s draft constitution, made public in April last year, deletes the existing article on the guarantee of fundamental human rights. It adds that the people must respect the national flag and national anthem. It states, “The people shall be aware that duties and obligations accompany freedoms and rights and shall never violate the public order and public interest.” It also says that the prime minister will have the power to declare a state of emergency and suspend ordinary law.
Mr. Abe’s aim is to “cast off the postwar regime.” Critics in Japan warn that he is seeking to resurrect the pre-1945 state. It is a vision both anachronistic and dangerous.
NYタイムズ社説「安倍首相が戦前体制の復活望んでいる」 : J-CASTニュース
米ニューヨークタイムズ電子版は2013年12月16日、「日本の危うい時代錯誤」と題した社説を掲載した。この中で、安倍政権が特定秘密保護法を国会で可決したことについて触れ、「法の文言はあいまいで範囲が広く、政治的に不都合だと判断された情報を政府が秘密扱いにすることが可能だ」としている。
また、共同通信が実施した世論調査を引用して「回答者の82％が、法案を撤回または修正すべきとしていた」にもかかわらず、安倍首相が「ごう慢にも国民の不安を軽く扱った」と批判的なトーンで伝え、同法が安倍首相の唱える「美しい国」、すなわち「政府の国民に対する権力を拡大して、個人の権利を弱めることを目指している」と断じた。
社説の最後では、安倍首相は「戦後体制の放棄が目標」としたうえで日本の評論家の談を引用し、首相が戦前の体制を復活させたがっており、それは時代錯誤で危険だと締めくくられている。
