Right to Know v. the Secrecy Law in Japan: Striking the Right Balance

Abstract

The ‘right to know’ information is a well-established human rights principle protected under the umbrella of public international law. In Japan, this right stems from the Japanese constitution, and its provisions were enshrined in the Administrative Information Disclosure Law (AIDL) of 2001. However, in December 2013, the Japanese National Diet passed a Secrecy Bill which caused uproar among legal experts, the media and other civic and human rights organizations, mainly due to its failure to adequately define the concept of secret information, which may undermine and hamper journalistic activities and freedom of the press. The ‘special gravitas’ question of striking the right balance between the legitimacy of state secrets and the public’s right to know still persists in Japan. This article attempts to answer some of these lingering questions and strives to find a solution.