CRI听力:Japanese Residents Protest against Implementation of State Secrecy Law

Japanese residents have taken to the streets in Tokyo to protest against the state secrecy law that will come into effect in December.

The move comes after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet approved a set of regulations regarding its implementation.

"It's said to be aimed at preventing spying, but people will know what it's about once they look at its contents. Take nuclear accidents for example. If a nuclear plant explosion occurs again, they may conceal information regarding the spread of radioactive substances. If we push them to publish the information, they can arrest us."

The Cabinet approved the guidelines which decree that state secrets can only be designated by the head of 19 government bodies with the minimum amount of information being withheld as "secrets for the shortest period of time."

The controversial law was first proposed in last November to tighten the government's grip on national information deemed sensitive enough to be designated "special secrets."
That bill was passed amid strong protests one month later.