Japan leads the world in opting out of national suicide. Passes law criminalizing plotting to commit terror acts-BBC

June 14, 2017, "Japan passes controversial anti-terror conspiracy law," BBC 

"Japan's lawmakers have passed a controversial bill allowing authorities to target terror conspiracies.

PM Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc pushed it through the upper house early on Thursday, despite vocal opposition.

The government argues the law is needed to improve security ahead of the 2020 Olympics, and to comply with a UN agreement Japan has signed."...

[UN agreement: "United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime."]

(continuing): "But critics say it weakens civil liberties and could be abused to monitor and target innocent citizens.

The bill, which criminalises the plotting and committing of 277 acts, is an amendment of Japan's existing law against organised crime syndicates.

It bans the procurement of funds or supplies, and the surveying of a location, in preparation of a crime.

An entire group - defined as two or more people - can be charged if at least one member is found to have been plotting a crime."...

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Added: NY Times laugher: Says Japan doesn't need stricter anti-terror laws because "terrorism is extremely rare there." 

It's better to wait til terrorism is more common?

"In a country where errorism is extremely rare, critics say that the bill is far too vague in defining terrorism and that the list of crimes subject to possible surveillance was arbitrary."... 

5/23/2017, "Conspiracy Bill Advances in Japan Despite Surveillance Fears," NY Times, Motoko Rich

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Added: The Religion of Peace

"The Religion of Peace is a non-partisan, fact-based site which examines the ideological threat that Islam poses to human dignity and freedom."
 
June 10, 2017 note: "Midway through its holiest month and the Religion of Peace has already distinguished itself with a thousand bodies. No killings in the name of other religions yet...while the much-hyped "Islamophobic backlash" consists mostly of a few rude comments and four bacon strips left at a mosque."





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