Jun 02 (Japan Times) - Edward Snowden, who exposed the existence of highly invasive U.S. surveillance programs in 2013, warned this week that Japan might be moving closer to achieving sweeping surveillance of ordinary citizens with a bill that gives the police highly invasive surveillance powers in the name of counterterrorism.
"This is the beginning of a new wave of mass surveillance in Japan," the 33-year-old American said in an exclusive interview from his exile in Russia, referring to Japan's conspiracy bill, which has stirred controversy at home and abroad as having the potential to undermine civil liberties.
The consequences could be even graver when combined with XKEYSCORE, a wide-reaching U.S. data collection tool that was exposed by the former National Security Agency contractor. Snowden also gave credence to the authenticity of new NSA papers exposed by The Intercept website earlier this year that showed the secretive spy agency has already shared the surveillance tool with Japan.
The warning from the intelligence expert is his latest regarding the Japanese government's effort to push the divisive conspiracy bill through the Diet. It criminalizes the planning of and the preparatory actions for 277 serious crimes.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in mid-May, a U.N. special rapporteur on the right to privacy stated that the conspiracy bill could lead to undue restrictions on privacy and freedom of expression because of its potential for widespread use and abuse - a claim Abe's government strongly denies.
Snowden said he agrees with the U.N.-appointed expert, Joseph Cannataci, because the bill is "not well explained" and raises concerns that the government may have intentions other than its stated goal of cracking down on terrorism and organized crime ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Source: Kyodo
