Tokyo: Japan passed a controversial anti-terror law on Thursday that sparked street protests and warnings from critics that it would stomp on citizens’ privacy rights and lead to over-the-top police surveillance.
The Upper House of Parliament passed the conspiracy bill early on Thursday morning after a full night of debate by sleepy parliamentarians and unsuccessful efforts on the part of Japan’s weak opposition to block it.
Thousands of demonstrators protested outside the legislature over the bill which criminalises the planning of serious crimes.
The government argues it is necessary to prevent terrorism ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan’s capital. But rights groups, Japan’s national bar association and numerous academics have opposed the bill, saying it is so broad it could be abused to allow wiretapping of innocent citizens and threaten privacy and freedom of expression guarantees in the constitution.
US surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden and Joseph Cannataci, UN special rapporteur on the right to privacy, have both criticised the law. Recent polls show the public is divided on the issue.
The bill’s passage overcame the opposition’s no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet and a censure motion aimed at Justice Minister Katsutoshi Kaneda.
Tokyo insists the law —which calls for a prison term of up to five years for planning serious crimes — is a prerequisite for implementing a UN treaty against transnational organised crime which Japan signed in 2000.
“We will uphold the law in an appropriate and effective way to protect people’s lives,” Abe said after the legislation passed. — AFP
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