2016 Volume 71 Pages 3-23
The Access to Government Information Act was enforced in 2001, and the Public Records and Archives Management Act was enforced in 2011, while development of the legal system necessary to guarantee the “right to know” in Japan was progressing gradually. However, since then the Secret Information Protection Act was enforced in 2014, and assurance of the “right to know” has significantly retreated.
To explore the historical and cultural background to this research, we looked back upon the history of records, disclosure, and secret protection from the Edo period to highlight the current status of Japan, primarily through comparison with other Asian countries. In international comparisons of the degree of democratization and freedom of expression by international organizations, freedom of the press and legal environments in particular have worsened since 2011 in Japan. Moreover, a comparative survey of public awareness in the Asian countries showed that the Japanese peer pressure is remarkably strong. The possibility is suggested that even if the legal revisions that restrict human rights proceeded, the Japanese do not show strong resistance to this development.
