The top or most interesting stories from Japan for February 13
– Japan ranks 61 / 180 on Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index, slipping two places this year due to the government’s new state secret laws.
Laws passed in December of last year that allow the Japanese government to imprison anyone who leaks state secrets for ten years, and anyone who helps them –primarily journalists– would be given a five years.
– The Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) and Komeito –a political party with whom the LDP has formed a coalition in the diet– have resumed talks on security legislation to discuss expanding the role of Japan’s Self Defence Force (SDF) outside of what the constitution dictates.
Komeito has criticised the Abe government’s plans to expand on SDF parameters, expressing an intent to continue allowing the US military to form the backbone of Japan’s defence plan.
– Japan will not look to extend a 14-year deal of currency swaps with South Korea, highlighting diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Currency swaps allow countries to borrow at an extremely low rate and maintain market stability, with the negotiated yen-won swap having been slowly shrunk since 2012.
– Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross has warned freelancers to reconsider traveling to Syria and Iraq.
This comes in the wake of the death of Japanese freelance journalist, Kenji Goto and the Japanese government’s confiscation of another freelance journalist’s passport who planned to travel to Syria.
– Ayaka Sono, a columnist for the Sankei Shimbun and educational advisor to the Abe administration, published an op-ed on Wednesday in which she called for the racial segregation of foreign workers.
Whilst she admitted Japan’s labor shortage could be addressed by foreigners, she believes whites, blacks and Asians should live separately and uses post-apartheid South Africa as an example. (The Japan Times, The Daily Beast)
– A small group of protestors in Tokyo picketed the publishers of a book reproducing Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons of the Islamic prophet, Mohammed.
This will be the last wrap for Tokyo Dispatches. With my internship having concluded on Friday, I’ll be returning to Australia on the Monday to continue my studies and my role as one of the editors of Catalyst Magazine.
Whether Tokyo Dispatches and the wrap continues is another question but at the moment I would feel it unauthentic to summarise Japanese politics from Melbourne. Thanks for your company.
