August 21, 2025

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

As a result of the July House of Councillors election, the xenophobic, far-right “Sanseito” party gained the right to submit bills. Party leader Kamiya Sohei at a press conference following the election expressed his intent to submit an anti-espionage bill to an Extraordinary Session of the Diet scheduled to be convened this coming autumn. He explained that the party asked for advice from the Cabinet Legislation Bureau in drafting the bill and that the party already began holding behind-the-scene talks with other parties on this matter.

The details of Sanseito’s bill are still sketchy, but the bill clearly aims to enhance surveillance of the general public and crack down suspected behavior under the pretext of preventing potential acts of espionage.

The Sanseito party is not the first to attempt to enact anti-espionage legislation. In 1989 under the government led by Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party proposed an espionage prevention bill (a state secrets bill) under which those who leak state secrets regarding national security and diplomacy to foreign countries will be subject to severe criminal punishment, including the death penalty. The former Unification Church-affiliated International Federation for Victory over Communism aggressively carried out a campaign in support of the enactment of the bill.

However, it was revealed that if the bill is enacted, freedom of the press and people’s right to know will be threatened as the scope of defining what state secrets are remains vague. After that, facing fierce public opposition and Diet questioning by the Japanese Communist and other pro-constitution parties, the bill was scrapped in 1986.

In the Upper House election campaign, along with the Sanseito party, the Democratic Party for the People and the “Nippon Ishin no Kai” party indicated their intent to establish a counter-espionage law. The LDP expressed its intent to begin discussions on the matter.

It is necessary to develop a national movement against the enactment of anti-espionage legislation.