Japan’s lower house set to pass secrecy bill

TOKYO: Japan’s lower house of parliament is set to pass a controversial new state secrets bill on Tuesday, which critics say is draconian and will impinge on press freedom and the public’s right to know.

After a morning of debate, a special house committee gave the green light to the bill, which would give Tokyo far broader powers in deciding what constitutes a state secret, and severely punish those who leak the information.