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35-509: Most of the core members of the SEALDs were involved with a predecessor movement, Students Against Secret Protection Law (SASPL), that protested against Shinzo Abe's Special Secrecy Law from February to December 2014. After the secrecy law was passed, the members went on to form SEALDs on May 3, 2015, Constitution Memorial Day in Japan, to highlight what they believed was Shinzo Abe's blatant disregard of

70-599: Is headed by a Secretary General who doubles as National Security Advisor to the Cabinet. The first Secretary General was Shotaro Yachi , former administrative vice minister of foreign affairs. The Secretary General is supported by two Deputy Secretaries General, positions held concurrently by the Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretaries for foreign affairs and for contingency response. They are followed by three senior counsellors: one high-ranking military officer from

105-749: Is held in response to emergencies and includes the Prime Minister, the Chief Cabinet Secretary and ministers designated by the Prime Minister depending on the emergency at hand. Besides ministers, the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretaries and the Prime Minister's Special Advisor on national security attend meetings and give opinions with the permission of the Prime Minister. Additionally, the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff and other relevant senior officials may be called to attend and give advice by

140-486: Is necessary for the entire Cabinet to work on the strengthening of foreign affairs and the security system of Japan." Experts have described the creation of the National Security Council as "the most ambitious reorganization of Japan’s foreign and security policy apparatus since the end of World War II." The National Security Council may convene in three different types of ministerial meetings depending on

175-776: The JSDF and one civilian official each from the Foreign and Defense ministries. The secretariat is primarily staffed by officials seconded from the Foreign and Defense ministries, including military officers, but also officials from the National Police Agency and other relevant institutions. Approximately 90 people work at the secretariat. The secretariat was originally divided into six teams handling various issues: Coordination, Intelligence, Strategic Planning and three regional policy teams. In 2020 an economic team devoted to economic security

210-751: The Self-Defense Forces or thereto relevant assessments, plans or research (b) Signal or imagery information, and other important information collected in relation to defense (c) Collection and organization of information listed in (b) or the capacity to do so (d) Assessments, plans or research pertaining to development of defense capability (e) Type or quantity of weapons, ammunition, aircraft and other material for defense use (f) Structure of communications network and means of communications for defense use (g) Cryptology for defense use (h) Specifications, performance or usage of weapons, ammunition, aircraft or other material for defense use including those at

245-591: The United States National Security Council . After Shinzo Abe was appointed prime minister for the first time in 2006 he initiated preparations for a new National Security Council, but the effort stalled after he stepped down from office in January 2007. The effort was renewed after Abe was reappointed as prime minister in December 2012. Key features of the proposed new National Security Council

280-469: The 11th place in 2010 to the 72nd place in 2016 because of the law about "state secrets". National Security Council (Japan) The National Security Council (NSCJ, Japanese : 国家安全保障会議; Hepburn : Kokka anzen hoshō kaigi ) is the principal forum used by the Prime Minister and Cabinet of Japan to coordinate and deliberate on security and defense policies for Japan. It was formed in 2013 on

315-427: The 1952 Special Criminal Act and the 1954 United States Mutual Security Act Secrets Protection Law protected military equipment that the U. S. provided for Japan. With the "War on Terror" and the challenges by China and North Korea and a number of events where military security was breached by Japan, it was argued that the government established the law to strengthen its relationship in the context of its partnership with

350-568: The Constitution. Special Secrecy Law The State Secrecy Law , officially the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets (SDS) ( 特定秘密の保護に関する法律 , Tokutei Himitsu no Hogo ni kansuru Hōritsu ) , Act No. 108 of 2013, is a law in Japan allowing the government to designate defense and other sensitive information as "special secrets" that are protected from public disclosure. Prior to

385-586: The Constitution. They were especially worried that the Abe cabinet, which enjoyed a majority in both Houses of the Japanese Parliament, would railroad their legislation to reinterpret Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution , allowing Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defence and potentially deploy troops on foreign soil. ( Such legislation was passed on September 19, 2015.) On August 30, 2015,

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420-584: The JMSDF Criminal Investigation Command (CIC) investigated the first breach of the SSL after a captain was charged for leaking classified information. Among the information that was illegally disclosed included intelligence acquired by American military forces to a former JMSDF admiral, who said that classified information should not be disclosed to him. Captain Takashi Inoue was dismissed from

455-768: The JMSDF. At the time of his dismissal, Captain Inoue was posted at the JMSDF Command and Staff College. On January 19, 2023, the leaks reported included information on Chinese ships in Japanese territorial waters. On April 27, 2023, violations of the SSL were reported with officers in the JMSDF and the JGSDF for failing to ensure lower-ranked personnel have received appropriate clearances. The Japanese secrecy law covers defense, diplomacy, public safety and counter-terrorism. In addition, it allows

490-508: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Japanese diplomatic establishments (a) Measures to prevent Designated Harmful Activities or thereto relevant plans or research (b) Important information collected on the protection of lives and bodies of people, or information collected from foreign governments or international organizations in relation to prevention of Designated Harmful Activities (c) Collection and organization of information listed in (b) or

525-543: The National Security Strategy and China's Air Defense Identification Zone . Together with the publication of Japan's first National Security Strategy in December 2013, the NSC represents a centralization of Japanese security policy under the Prime Minister . The National Security Strategy advocates for the creation of an NSC because "the security environment surrounding Japan is further increasing in severity. ... [I]t

560-625: The Prime Minister. The council has hotlines to its American and British counterparts. The National Security Secretariat was created in January 2014 as a department of the Cabinet Secretariat to support the National Security Council. It assists the council in both administrative matters, policy planning and information management. The secretariat works closely with the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office and also receives reports directly from various agencies and bureaux. It

595-755: The R&;D stage (i) Methods of production, inspection, repair or examination of weapons, ammunition, aircraft and other material for defense use including those at the R&D stage (j) Design, performance or internal use of facilities for defense use (a) Among policy or contents of negotiations or cooperation with foreign governments or international organizations, those pertaining to the protection of lives and bodies of people, territorial integrity and other issues deemed important to national security (b) Measures including embargoes on imports or exports that Japan carries out for national security purposes or thereto relevant policies (c) Important information collected regarding

630-576: The SEALDs was among protesters who surrounded the National Diet Building in Tokyo. Estimates of the size of the crowd ranged from 30,000 to 120,000. Such a large student movement had not emerged in Japan since the anti-war protests of the 1960s, which forced Shinzo Abe's grandfather Nobusuke Kishi to resign as Prime Minister. However, in contrast to the Zengakuren , whose radicalism eventually alienated

665-689: The Secretary-General of the Secretariat. The immediate predecessor to the National Security Council was the Security Council, which itself had superseded the Defense Council in 1986. The old Security Council had been beset by bureaucratic inefficiencies and lack of coordination. During the Koizumi cabinet there were several calls for the creation of a "Japan-style National Security Council" similar to

700-587: The Security-related Laws , Save Constitutional Democracy Japan, Mothers Against War and All Out Action Committee (Sogakari). The security laws were enacted on March 29, 2016. SEALDs organised a protest in front of the Parliament building the day before. SEALDs' activities ranged from holding demonstrations, protest rallies and marches, organizing study groups and talk events, to creating booklets, pamphlets and videos, using social media. They also moved around

735-476: The United States. In a 2016 assessment of the impact of the law, Aditi Razdan indicated that while the law may have a chilling effect on the media, the extent of this is difficult to measure, as "[w]hen a state secret itself is not defined, it is nearly impossible to determine what media outlets can no longer report on." In the annual ranking of global press freedom Reporters Without Borders lowered Japan from

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770-438: The capacity to do so (d) Cryptology used for prevention of Designated Harmful Activities (a) Measures to prevent terrorism or thereto relevant plans or research (b) Important information collected on the protection of lives and bodies of people, or information collected from foreign governments or international organizations in relation to prevention of terrorism (c) Collection and organization of information listed in (b) or

805-411: The capacity to do so (d) Cryptology used for prevention of terrorism Access to SDS shall be limited to government personnel, employees of Government of Japan contractors and prefectural police officers who, following the security clearance process, are identified as not risking unauthorized disclosure of SDS. About 80% of the Japanese population had opposed the law. Reporters Without Borders called

840-689: The country to support various movements and candidates, such as the protests in Okinawa against the US military base and the Hokkaido by-elections in April 2016. SEALDs disbanded on August 15, 2016, one month after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party won a supermajority in the Upper House election . However, co-founder Aki Okuda (奥田 愛基) stated that the campaign was not over and urged all of Japan's politicians to continue to protect

875-780: The government to lock away government documents for 60 years. Civil servants leaking information can expect ten years incarceration while journalists and other civilians helping them would get five years. Before SDS was launched, the Abe cabinet established the National Security Council (NSC) on December 4, 2013. The Abe cabinet explained that SDS and the Japanese NSC should work together. Public comment were heard from July 24, 2014, to August 24, 2014. The government announced that SDS would come into force on December 10, 2014. The head of an administrative organ shall designate as Specially Designated Secrets (a) Operation of

910-571: The initiative of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to replace the ineffective Security Council and to centralize information management. The NSCJ was officially established on 4 December 2013, following the passing of the law establishing the National Security Council on 27 November 2013. The council is supported by the National Security Secretariat, a department within the Cabinet Secretariat . The National Security Advisor serves as

945-552: The issues at hand: the four-minister meeting, the nine-minister meeting and the emergency ministerial meeting. All ministerial meetings are chaired by the Prime Minister. The four-minister meeting consists of the Prime Minister , Minister for Foreign Affairs , Minister of Defense and the Chief Cabinet Secretary . It makes up the core of the council and meets on a biweekly basis to deliberate on matters concerning national security. The nine-minister meeting, besides

980-501: The law "an unprecedented threat to freedom of information". Critics claim that the law is vague on what constitutes a "state secret" and represents a return to pre-WW II militarism when the Peace Preservation Act was used to stifle political opposition. They also contend that the law undermines basic democratic freedom and makes the administration "the judge, jury, and enforcer" in the matter. There have also been claims that

1015-467: The law has led to an "increase in self-control and even self-censorship in the reporting of issues that do not correspond to the government’s political direction." The law was hailed by the American ambassador, Caroline Kennedy , and was seen as a victory for the United States government that had pressured Shinzo Abe and his government to control classified information more tightly. In the decades before,

1050-677: The necessity of protecting state secrets. No law was passed due to reminders of what the Kempeitai have done in World War II. Proposed by the second Abe cabinet, the law was approved by the Security Council on October 25, 2013, then was submitted to the National Diet , before being approved there as well on December 6 the same year. The law was promulgated on December 13, 2013, and came into force one year later. On December 24, 2022,

1085-606: The participants of the four-minister meeting, additionally includes the Minister of Finance , Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications , Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry , Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission . This meeting is mainly convened to consider defense planning and budgetary issues. The emergency ministerial meeting

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1120-462: The passage of the SSL, incidents where espionage cases involving hostile foreign intelligence agencies were handled through use of other laws such as the Passport or SDF Law. An attempt was made to pass an anti-espionage law during the administration of Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1985. Concerns were raised on how whether human rights will be violated and whether there is a balance between public interest and

1155-407: The protection of the lives and bodies of people, territorial integrity, or the peace and security of the international community, or information that requires protection under international agreements including treaties related to national security (d) Collection and organization of information listed in (c) or the capacity to do so (e) Cryptology for diplomatic use, including communications between

1190-635: The public in the 1960s, the SEALDs attempted to be moderate and non-partisan. Branches of SEALDs sprang up in various places around Japan. SEALDs KANSAI was established in May 2015, SEALDs TOHOKU on July 20, SEALDs RYUKYU in Okinawa on August 15, and SEALDs TOKAI in Nagoya on September 7. On December 20, 2015, SEALDs co-founded the Civil Alliance for Peace and Constitutionalism with the Association of Scholars Opposed to

1225-450: Was the four-minister meeting which would allow for more flexible and regular deliberation and the creation of a robust staff, the National Security Secretariat. The House of Representatives passed a bill to establish the council on 7 November 2013 and the House of Councillors followed suit on 27 November. The Council met for the first time on 4 December 2013 to discuss the adoption of

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