UN condemns Japanese conspiracy law

The government of Shinzo Abe has become embroiled in a furious war of words with a United Nations legal expert over a new conspiracy law, which critics denounce as a throwback to the repressive days of the pre-war “thought police”.

Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, rejected as “one-sided” and “obviously inappropriate” a letter criticising the law by Joseph Cannataci, the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to privacy.

Professor Cannataci hit back by dismissing the “angry words” of Mr Suga and demanding that the bill be revised to guarantee protection against intrusive surveillance.

“There is absolutely no justification for the Japanese government to behave in this way and push through seriously defective legislation in such a rush,” he wrote. “This is the time for…