The Diet Building
2:33 PM JST, May 10, 2024
TOKYO (Jiji Press) – The Diet, Japan’s parliament, on Friday passed a bill to establish a security clearance system for individuals allowed to handle important information related to economic security.
The bill was approved by majority vote at a plenary meeting of the House of Councilors, the Upper House of the Diet, with support mainly from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its junior coalition partner Komeito and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. The bill was adopted by the House of Representatives last month.
Under the new law on the protection and use of important economic security information, those who leaked important information will face penalties such as imprisonment for up to five years.
Information that could threaten the country’s security depending on how it is handled, such as information related to cybersecurity measures and vulnerabilities in supply chains, will be considered important economic security information.
The Japanese government will only provide sensitive information to people who are recognized as not at risk of leaking such information. Such individuals will be selected after passing the government’s seven-step background checks, which cover issues such as criminal records and mental health issues.
The new law will work in tandem with the existing Law on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets, which establishes a security clearance system for information in four areas that require a higher level of confidentiality, including defense and diplomacy.
As the security clearance system expands to include economic security information, the number of individuals authorized to handle sensitive information in the private sector is expected to increase.
To ensure the transparency of the system, the government will report annually to the Diet on related matters, such as the designation and removal of important economic security information.
The new law will not only strengthen Japan’s information security but also increase industrial competitiveness as companies will be able to participate in more international joint research and development projects, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday at a meeting of the Upper House Cabinet Committee. .
