When Japan’s parliament passed a controversial law on the protection of state secrets in late 2013, thousands of people flocked to the Diet to protest the legislation.
Ten years later, as the Senate debates a bill that would expand the use of background checks for private citizens, opposition in parliament is weak and the public seems largely passive.
While some point to a resulting shift in the country’s consciousness about its own security – fueled by a deteriorating regional and international geopolitical landscape – opposition party lawmakers point to a general apathy among the media.
