A tighter state secrets law under consideration in Japan could be troubling for reporters pursuing stories on governmental wrongdoing Foreign Policy reports: "There used to be a saying among Washington bureaucrats: A great way to leak information is to pass it along to Tokyo. Once hailed as a 'spy's paradise' because of its weak state secrecy laws, Japan is trying to reform its reputation as an information sieve with a hotly contested measure that would bring Japanese law more in line with U.S. national security policy -- perhaps with troubling implications. The bill ... would give agency heads discretionary power to classify 23 types of information in four categories -- defense, diplomacy, counter-terrorism, and counter-intelligence -- and stiffens penalties for leaking state secrets, even in cases of journalists exposing wrongdoing." The proposed law would mean governmental employees who share classified information with journalists could face up to 10 years in prison, and reporters could be prosecuted for encouraging the leaking of information, Foreign Policy also reports.
Reuters reports on the final enactment of the legislation, including that "journalists and others in the private sector convicted of encouraging such leaks could get up to five years if they use 'grossly inappropriate' means to solicit the information."
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