Japan enacts law to create security clearance system

Japan's parliament yesterday enacted legislation to establish a "security clearance" system, allowing critical government information to be classified on economic security grounds to prevent leaks to overseas entities.

Under the legislation, the government would be able to designate information as classified if it deems that its dissemination could undermine Japan's national security and make it accessible only to individuals who have passed background checks.

The House of Councillors passed the bill with the backing of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, the Komeito party, as well as opposition parties, following its passage in the House of Representatives last month.

The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who heads the conservative LDP, has claimed that the legislation will facilitate information-sharing with like-minded countries to promote international projects in the private sector.

Some critics and legal experts have raised concerns that the government could arbitrarily use the system to designate a wide range of issues as confidential, possibly infringing on the public's right to know.

Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is in charge of the bill, claimed the government will manage the legislation to appropriately ensure that the scope of classified information would not be broadened "immoderately."

Opponents have also indicated that background checks could amount to an unwarranted invasion of privacy. On Thursday, Kishida stressed the need to ensure that background check results would not be used for purposes other than their stated purpose.

Government officials and employees at private companies that would be subject to the security clearance would have to undergo vetting of their criminal records, alcohol drinking habits and the nationality of their spouses.

The law does not specify what can be classified, but information related to cutting-edge technologies and infrastructure is expected to be included. Other areas -- such as defence, diplomacy, espionage and counterterrorism -- are already covered by a separate law enacted in 2013 to protect state secrets.

Designated information will be classified for a minimum of five years, with an option to extend to 30 years. The law would punish those proven to have leaked confidential information, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison or a fine of up to 5 million yen ($32,000), or both.