Abstract
Freedom of the press now appears to be very close to a crisis. For the past
few years, mass media has not been able to fulfill their role as a fourth estate.
Two bills passed in 2013, despite repeated criticism: the Special Secrecy Act and
the “My Number” Act. This paper analyzes how these two acts control and
regulate the freedom of the press, in order to perform their designated purposes.
The Special Secrecy Act was legislated to control and protect classified
information that is concerned with national defense, diplomatic relations, the
activity of secret agents, and counter terrorism. However, what counts as classified
information is very broad in scope and under administrative discretion, so
it cannot be clearly defined by the act.
The “My Number” Act involves initiating a national ID numbering system.
Its goals are making administrative procedures more efficient and effective for
the government and more convenient for the people. The act applies to all registered
residents of Japan, and this system is now expanding to all areas of our
daily life. The government has a big plan for all residents to have a“ My Number
Card,” which would affect every aspect of residents’ privacy.
It seems that we are being placed under the control of these acts, which
will lead to a Surveillance Society. Due to this situation, the activities of mass
media will be more observed and controlled. The mass media should make
every endeavor to exercise the freedom of the press. For instance, they should
practice investigative reporting by using FOIA, Open Data, or Big Data.
