
Abe Passes Controversial Bill Boosting Japan Surveillance Powers - adventured
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-06-15/abe-passes-controversial-bill-boosting-japan-surveillance-powers
======
pyre
Apparently it is

> _needed to bolster counter-terrorism precautions ahead of the 2020 Tokyo
> Olympics_

but:

> _Under the bill, terrorist groups or criminal organizations could be
> punished for the planning of 277 crimes, which range from arson to copyright
> violation_

 _Copyright violation_? Seriously? Copyright violation is a terrorist act or a
part of _planning_ a terrorist act?

~~~
comstock
In the Japan Times article on this it says they suggest that pirated CD sales
could be used to fund terrorism... yep..

~~~
a_bonobo
The piracy/terrorism link has been used often before, an example:
[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/21/1047749921225.h...](http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/21/1047749921225.html)

~~~
dmix
> March 21 2003

Ah, back the in the MPAA hay-day when they still thought they had a chance:

> Motion Picture Association of America head Jack Valenti - a leader of
> Hollywood's fight against piracy - continued the terrorism theme in his
> written submission to the hearing.

> "September 11 changed the way Americans look at the world. It also changed
> the way American law enforcement looks at Intellectual Property crimes,"
> wrote Valenti - borrowing from an November 2002 article in the Customs
> Service newsletter US Customs Today.

Reminds me of this old comic: [https://s-media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/736x/53/ed/12/53ed12786...](https://s-media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/736x/53/ed/12/53ed12786da279fbe85c1b868f491e91.jpg)

14 years later and it's still a good political tactic.

------
comstock
World politics seems to be shifting to the right in almost all the major
economies. It's quite depressing (to me).

Are any of the major economies moving to the left? Does anybody have a good
understanding of why this is happening?

In this instance, it doesn't appear to be fear caused by domenstic terrorism.
Japan suffered domestic terrorism in the past and the response seemed far more
measured then.

~~~
jrs95
The election that just happened in the UK seems to indicate that things are
going the other way. Young voter turnout increased substantially, and they're
way further to the left. That age gap seems to exist in the rest of Europe &
the U.S. as well.

~~~
comstock
The increased young voter turnout is great. But the conservatives won, and are
moving further and further to the right. Corybns own party have been trying to
force him out. And to be honest, the Labour Party supposed some pretty right
bill legislation (the IP Bill).

There maybe significant (and even growing) resistance. But it doesn't seem
very effective at creating political change.

~~~
jrs95
But the right wing voters continue to die off at a pretty decent rate every
year. So as long as the young actually bother to vote, I don't think it'll be
very long for this trend to reverse itself. A lot of "left" parties do seem to
ultimately answer to corporate interests though.

~~~
new299
It's possible. Or perhaps Corybn will be pushed out and the Labour party will
take a more authoritarian stance again.

And even if Labour get in, they still voted the IP Bill in. So they are pro-
surveillance. So overall, I can't be convinced that "things are looking
positive" from an individual liberties point of view, in the UK. Is there
anywhere it's looking positive?

~~~
jrs95
Oh yeah I agree, from an individual liberties point of view, we're totally
fucked...and hardly anyone seems to care because they're easily distracted by
shiny things & identity politics.

------
Paul-ish
> Despite public ambiguity toward his drive to change the constitution and a
> probe into his alleged use of influence in helping a friend’s school project

To anyone else who was confused thinking maybe the president was helping some
kid on his school project, that is not the case. It looks like he gave
money[1] and state land to build a very nationalistic school.

* [http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/japan-pm-accused-of...](http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/japan-pm-accused-of-giving-cash-for-nationalistic-school/)

------
ekianjo
Abe is decidedly full of... no surprises. You know exactly his agenda and what
he intends to do. And you get the media at his feet, which says a lot about
"free press" in Japan.

------
pasbesoin
Watch the extant powers -- state and extra-governmental -- entrench
themselves, one by one, step by step.

------
mtgx
Isn't Abe a conservative. Why is it that "small government" politicians always
seem to be for more surveillance?

At least it would be nice if they dealt with the well known problem of
organized crime in Japan, but I doubt it will be used for anything like that -
just more screwing over the little guy.

~~~
yohui
Abe isn't an _American_ conservative. Even European conservatism isn't a one-
to-one match with the American version, much less Japanese conservatism.

~~~
adventured
Even American conservatives haven't actually been in favor of small government
for a very, very long time. Roughly 40 to 50 years as a majority position
(some of them still lie and pretend they are of course; they always flake when
it comes to actions & votes).

George W. Bush nearly doubled Federal Government spending and built numerous
massive new bureaucracy agencies. Reagan before him did likewise in regards to
spending. They're almost all big government conservatives now, the only
question is what they spend on.

There few conservatives in the US holding the political position of cutting
government spending, and almost none in favor of cutting entitlements. The
tiny wing of the Republican party that actually favors the free market
heavily, is irrelevant and has zero power or influence.

