Concerns on Economic Security Act

Fumio Kishida Cabinet submitted a draft of Important Economic Information Protection and Utilization Act to the Diet. The act was aimed to halt leaks of crucial information not only by public workers but by the workers with private sectors. While the act is expected to expand business opportunities with foreign companies, it is concerned that security clearance introduced in it may disturb privacy and commercial activities.

Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secret (APSDS) of 2014 protects crucial information on defense, diplomacy, prevention of spying and anti-terrorism, not securing important information obtained through economic activities. Acknowledging necessity of protecting secrecy in economy, such as in joint project of developing security equipment with foreign companies, the government of Japan has been considering new legislation.

 

The draft submitted to the Diet requires the government to designate information, which will be related to infrastructure or supply chains and may cause crucial consequence in case it is leaked to the third party, as “important economic security information.” Only the workers for a company registered by the government can only receive that information, after they passed an “aptitude evaluation,” in other words, security clearance.

 

The government of Japan stresses that only Japan does not have any system of security clearance among Group of Seven countries. “It is about enhancement of information protection and international business chance for Japanese companies,” told Minister in charge of Economic Security, Sanae Takaichi, about the purpose of the act.

 

The act deals with information on infrastructures including electricity and railway, supply chains of semiconductor or minerals. While APSDS deals with information which “extremely disturbs security” if leaked, the new act will focus on information “disturbing” security, mitigating the condition for security clearance. While security clearance of APSDS is mostly made on public workers with penalty of ten years in prison, new act will broadly be applied to private workers with penalty of five years in prison. Aptitude evaluation examines the workers’ history of crime, penalty or use of drug, alcoholic habit, mental disease or situation of debt.

 

First question is whether a worker can dismiss request of taking security clearance from boss. While the act regards that security clearance will be based on willingness of workers, the worker must be worried about whether he/she will be disadvantaged, if he/she dismisses the request. There remain possibilities of not only invasion of privacy, but violation of the rights of people to know what the government is doing and of freedom of economic activity. Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) made a proposal to the government requiring consideration on individual privacy.

 

The government has not disclosed what kind of information will be selected as “important economic security information.” It will be determined after the draft passes the diet, which means that the Diet cannot check what the government is going to regulate. The time period of designated information will be five years in the draft, but it will be extended as long as thirty years and even sixty years with approval of a cabinet. The government will have firm discretion with the act.