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Japan Passes Controversial 'Anti-Conspiracy' Bill (privateinternetaccess.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Virtual Privacy Network Blog, News: Earlier today, after an intentionally rushed consideration process, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe passed a new mass surveillance law conveniently called the "anti-conspiracy bill." With the vague wording of the bill, anyone suspected of planning any of [the 277 acts listed in the bill] could be put under targeted surveillance. Of course, the Japanese government has promised not to overstep their boundaries and emphasized that the new law is only meant to increase security before the 2020 Olympics. Among the noted crimes that would be punishable in Japan under the new anti-terrorism law is copyright violation, which is a criminal offense not a civil offense in Japan. Both the Japanese Bar Association and the United Nation's Special Rapporteur have spoken out against the law, saying that it will severely curtail civil liberties in Japan.
BBC laid out some of the most ridiculous things that someone in Japan can now catch a potentially terrorism-related charge for even planning or discussing on social media the acts of: Copying music; Conducting sit-ins to protest against the construction of apartment buildings; Using forged stamps; Competing in a motor boat race without a license; Mushroom picking in conservation forests; Avoiding paying consumption tax. The stated rationale of the government is that these now-illegal acts, such as copying music to CDs or foraging for mushrooms in conservation forests, could be used to fund terrorist activities. Hence, planning or thinking about them is bad. If this sounds like the Thought Police, that's because it is.
BBC laid out some of the most ridiculous things that someone in Japan can now catch a potentially terrorism-related charge for even planning or discussing on social media the acts of: Copying music; Conducting sit-ins to protest against the construction of apartment buildings; Using forged stamps; Competing in a motor boat race without a license; Mushroom picking in conservation forests; Avoiding paying consumption tax. The stated rationale of the government is that these now-illegal acts, such as copying music to CDs or foraging for mushrooms in conservation forests, could be used to fund terrorist activities. Hence, planning or thinking about them is bad. If this sounds like the Thought Police, that's because it is.
So japan wants to do same legally everyone else is doing illegally. Atleast they're being kind of honest when they pass an actual law.
I wish my country also would publicize what the actual rules are.
In Finland, you can be suspect to a crime based on "evidence" inside your apartment and not observable unless already performing a house search. ie. search was ordered prior to establishing any cause.
You can bring the victim of the original crime, doctor, whose clinic was burglarized to appeals court to prove police perjury in lower court. Cops said narcotic drugs could've been stolen, doc says cops knew an hour before the search started drug vault was still locked and untouched.
Cops also give statement under oath that they performed visual observation giving them cause to suspect me personally between points a-b, which in reality were lacking line of sight due to concrete wall without windows. I brought pictures proving this to court.
Court simply withdraws mention of possibly stolen drugs in new verdict, cops escape punishment, the person arrested on false pretext gets shafted with court bills.
If the government just fucking upfront said they're going to do the fuckever they wan't all this unnecessary bullshit could've been avoided.
In Finland, having dog hair on the bottom of your shoe can result in your house being raided at 3 am by 5 cops and the interrogation about non-existing imaginary stolen drugs lasts 7 hours. Supreme court simply refuses to admit the case without statement and whole process dies.
in response to the lessons of WW2. ...Japan is one that hasn't changed enough.
They keep moving toward (real) nationalism. Not this "'Merica!" kind, but "change the history books" kind. They would rather forget and hide all the atrocities than accept and learn from them.
(There are tons of great people in Japan, but the ones who have influence and power are NOT the same people.)
For all the shit we give Germany over WW2. Nobody ever bothers to read up on the near equal horror of Japan. Human experimentation on live subjects? Yes. Belief in superior race? Yes. Death marches? Yes. An nationalistic ideology so strong they had volunteer suicide bombers? Yep. Systematic rape (and murder) of millions of women and children? Yep. Experimentation of biological and chemical weapons on prisoners? Yep. (Google Unit-731)
More or less what I came to say, except that I am worried that Theresa May will use it as partial justification: if a civilised country like Japan can do it, I can also impose it in England.
I used to think that books & films like 'Fahrenheit 451' & 'Neuromancer' were just stuff for entertainment, but now I seem to be seeing this coming at me just over the hill.