秘密保護法案 後世の検証が可能な仕組みに

The Yomiuri Shimbun November 9, 2013
Establish framework to guarantee posterity can verify validity of ‘secrets’
秘密保護法案　後世の検証が可能な仕組みに（11月8日付・読売社説）

　◆国民の懸念払拭へ審議を尽くせ◆

Classified information related to the nation’s security that could affect the survival of this country must certainly be protected. It is very important to establish a solid legal system to protect information while also paying due attention to the people’s right to know.
　国の存亡にかかわる安全保障上の機密は、守らなければならない。国民の「知る権利」に配慮しつつ、情報保全法制を整備することが肝要だ。

Diet deliberations started Thursday on a bill to ensure protection of specially designated state secrets.
　特定秘密保護法案の国会審議が７日から始まった。

Under the proposed legislation, the government will designate information that is believed to require especially high confidentiality as “special secrets” in the four fields of defense, diplomacy, counterintelligence and counterterrorism. The envisaged law allows for harsher punishment of public servants who leak such secrets.
　防衛、外交、スパイ活動防止、テロ防止の４分野で特に秘匿性の高い情報を、「特定秘密」に指定し、漏えいした公務員らの罰則を強化する内容である。

Key to security strategy
　◆安保戦略に欠かせない◆

The aim of the bill is to ensure the creation of a structure that will prevent important information related to the country’s security from being casually divulged.
　法案の狙いは、国の安全保障に関する重要情報が簡単に漏えいしない仕組みを構築することだ。

The situation surrounding Japan is increasingly severe, including North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile development programs and moves by China to augment its arsenal.
　北朝鮮の核・ミサイル開発や中国の軍備増強など、日本を取り巻く情勢は厳しさを増している。

To ensure the nation’s peace and security, the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been seeking to establish a Japanese version of the U.S. National Security Council as a control tower for the government’s diplomatic and security policies.
　日本の平和と安全を確保するため、安倍政権は、外交・安全保障政策の司令塔となる国家安全保障会議（日本版ＮＳＣ）の創設を目指している。

A bill to launch the Japanese NSC passed a plenary session of the House of Representatives on Thursday.
設置法案は７日、衆院を通過した。

For the Japanese NSC to function properly, it is indispensable for it to share important information with Japan’s allies and other friendly countries.
　日本版ＮＳＣを機能させるには同盟国や友好国と重要情報を共有することが欠かせない。

All countries will be understandably reluctant to provide information to another nation where there are fears that classified information will be leaked. In this regard, the special secrets protection law will be of great significance in improving the mutual trust between Japan and allies, such as the United States.
漏えいの恐れがある国に、機密は提供されにくい。「特定秘密保護法」は、米国などとの信頼関係を強める上で大きな意義がある。

According to the government-submitted bill, the designation and lifting of the special secrets classification will be conducted by “chiefs of relevant organs of government administration,” such as the defense minister and foreign minister. This can be safely called an adequate arrangement, as decisions involving secrets must be made from a comprehensive point of view based on national strategy and national interests.
　法案によると、秘密の指定や解除は、防衛相や外相など「行政機関の長」が行う。国家戦略や国益を踏まえた総合判断が求められる以上、妥当な手続きと言える。

Situations must be avoided, however, in which ministries and agencies designate information as special secrets only to conceal information that is detrimental to their interests.
　ただ、省庁が自らに都合が悪いというだけで、情報を秘密指定する事態は避けねばならない。

The bill calls for the government to establish a set of operational standards for designating and lifting the special secrets classification, by holding hearings to listen to opinions from experts. The envisioned standards must be used as criteria for not expanding the scope of secrets more than necessary.
法案は、政府が有識者の意見を聞き、指定や解除の統一基準を定めるとしている。指定の範囲を必要以上に広げない基準とすべきだ。

Prevent arbitrary operation
　◆恣意的運用の防止図れ◆

Some have expressed concern that designated secrets will be kept confidential permanently, and never be disclosed to the public.
　秘密指定が永久に続き、公開されないのではとの危惧もある。

The bill sets the period for the designation of special secrets at a maximum of five years, stipulating designated secrets should be disclosed when confidentiality becomes unnecessary. However, the legislation also allows the government to extend the confidentiality period, and secrets could be kept undisclosed for 30 years or longer, depending on approval by the Cabinet.
　法案は、秘密指定の期間を最長５年とし、必要性がなくなれば、解除すると規定している。延長も可能で、内閣が承認すれば、３０年を超えることもできる。

Secrets should be made public as a matter of principle after the passage of a certain period of time, to make it possible for posterity to verify the validity of the secrets’ designation.
　重要なのは、一定期間を過ぎれば、原則公開し、後世の歴史的検証を受けるという視点である。

If secrets are publicly disclosed in the future, we believe concerns about administrative organs arbitrarily classifying information as special secrets can be eliminated for the most part.
将来公開されるとなれば、行政機関による恣意(しい)的な秘密指定を相当程度、排除できるのではないか。

There could of course be highly confidential state secrets that are difficult to disclose even in the future. The government is examining the requirements for extending the designation of such secrets beyond 30 years. Included in this category are secret codes and weapons used by the Self-Defense Forces.
　無論、将来も開示が困難な秘密もあろう。政府は、３０年を超えて秘密指定を延長する場合の要件を検討している。自衛隊で使用する暗号や武器の性能などだ。

Extreme care must also be taken with information provided by other countries.
　他国からの提供情報には、細心の注意を払う必要もある。

Another challenge is the preservation and administration of documents.
　文書の保存・管理も課題だ。

The Public Records and Archives Management Law calls for setting a preservation period for all administrative documents. The law also makes it mandatory to transfer documents with historical value and significance to the National Archives of Japan and obtain the prime minister’s approval if such documents are to be destroyed.
　公文書管理法は、すべての行政文書に保存期間を定めるよう求めている。その上で、歴史的価値のある文書は国立公文書館へ移管し、廃棄する場合には首相の同意を得ることも義務づけている。

Currently, however, defense secrets kept under the Self-Defense Forces Law are excluded from the Public Records and Archives Management Law. Over a five-year period up until 2011, about 30,000 items containing defense secrets that had exceeded their mandatory period of preservation were destroyed at the discretion of senior Defense Ministry officials.
　だが、現在、自衛隊法に基づく防衛秘密は公文書管理法の適用除外とされている。２０１１年までの５年間に、保存期間の過ぎた防衛秘密の文書約３万件が防衛省幹部の判断で廃棄された。

If the secret protection bill is enacted, defense secrets will be included among special secrets. So it was appropriate that Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera issued an order not to destroy defense secrets until the secret protection law is enforced.
　特定秘密保護法案が成立すると、防衛秘密は特定秘密に統合される。小野寺防衛相が法施行まで、防衛秘密の文書を廃棄しないよう指示したのは適切である。

Special secrets also should be administered strictly under the Public Records and Archives Management Law.
　特定秘密も、公文書管理法の下で厳格に管理すべきだ。

Public’s right to know

Fulfilling responsibilities to the people is a natural obligation of the government of a democratic country.
　国民に対し、説明責任を果たすのは、民主主義国家における政府の当然の責務である。

Concerns about the bill possibly interfering with the people’s right to know were expressed even by ruling party members during a plenary session of the lower house Thursday.
　法案が国民の知る権利を制約する懸念は、７日の衆院本会議で与党議員からも指摘された。

　◆「知る権利」への配慮を◆

As a result of negotiations between the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner New Komeito, the bill was modified to add a statement that consideration should be given to freedom of news coverage and reporting. Concerning news gathering activities by the media, the bill stipulates that they are “regarded as legitimate practice, as long as they are not illegal or excessively unjust,” thus excluding any criminal charge against them in principle.
　自民、公明両党の修正協議の結果、取材・報道の自由への配慮が法案に明記された。報道関係者の取材行為についても、「違法または著しく不当でない限り、正当な業務とする」と規定され、原則、罪に問われないとされた。

However, public servants would be subject to punishment if they leak special secrets. The bill calls for up to 10 years in prison for violators, which is far stricter than the maximum of one year under the National Civil Service Law and the maximum of five years under the SDF law.
　しかし、秘密を漏えいした公務員らは処罰対象となる。罰則も現行の国家公務員法の懲役１年以下、自衛隊法の懲役５年以下より格段に重い懲役１０年以下だ。

There is concern that public servants will not comply with interview requests due to fear of punishment, thereby making it impossible for the media to provide information that the public needs to know. We urge the ruling and opposition parties to deepen discussions about whether they can prevent such a situation.
　公務員が萎縮して取材に応じず、報道機関が国民に必要な情報を伝えられない恐れがある。こうした事態を防げるのか、与野党は議論を深めてもらいたい。

Debate on how the Diet will be involved in dealing with special secrets also cannot be overlooked.
　国会がどう特定秘密に関与するかという論点も放置できない。

The bill would allow for the communication of secrets to Diet committee members, among others, on condition that they hold closed-door sessions. Whether to provide secrets would be decided by the head of the administrative organization.
　法案は、秘密会の開催を条件にして、国会の委員会などに秘密を提供できるとしている。ただ、提供するかどうかの判断は、行政機関の長に委ねられている。

Is it appropriate for lawmakers to decide on the future course of the nation without knowing important information on national security? The legislature might not be able to conduct proper oversight of the administration. The Diet must study a system under which it can share secrets.
　国会議員が安全保障上の重要情報を知らずに、日本の針路を決めていいものか。行政に対する立法府の監視機能が働かない可能性もある。国会としても、秘密を共有する仕組みを検討すべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 8, 2013)
（2013年11月8日01時50分  読売新聞）