Secrets advisory council chief stresses freedom of press

The council is chaired by Tsuneo Watanabe, chairman of the board and editor-in-chief of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also attended the meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

"To ensure objectivity and clarity in the handling of secrets by the government, which has been ambiguous so far, I hope you'll hold energetic and lively discussions," Abe told the council members.

The council includes specialists on information disclosure and legal matters as well as members of the press.

"There must be no cases in which unnecessarily expanded interpretations [of the law] suppress freedom of speech and freedom of the press," Watanabe said in his address at the meeting. "I hope the prime minister will make the final decision after we discuss [each topic] from every aspect."

By autumn, the government will devise criteria for creating specially designated state secrets and the removal of this designation, as well as criteria for assessing public servants and other people handling such secrets. The council will offer their opinions on the creation of the criteria and changes to them. Once a year, the council will receive a report on the law's implementation from the government.

The law is aimed at stiffening the punishment for public servants and others who leak classified information regarding foreign affairs and security. Enacted last year, the law is expected to take effect at the end of this year.

While there are expectations that reinforcement of the system for protecting information will lead to more information exchanges with other countries, there are also concerns that the law may hinder the people's right to know.