Japan's Osaka Governor Ichiro Matsui, also secretary general of the opposition Japan Restoration Party, expressed on Monday his concern over the lack of debate on the state secrets protection bill amid the push for its passage by the current administration headed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, local press reported.

Matsui stated to reporters in the prefectural office that although such a law to protect government secrets is required at present to share information with Japan's allies, lawmakers in the Diet are not handling the bill carefully enough, the country' s Kyodo News Agency said.

"We should sincerely consider the balance between the ( constitutional) right to free access to information and the state secrets protection bill. This is an issue we must consider deliberately in order to finalize the content of the law," he stressed in the day's speech.

The governor's comments come amid public fears that the bill, likely to be enacted during the present Diet session, will not be accompanied by sufficient debate about its content or about related bills to protect citizens from abuse of the state secrets protection law by the government.

Local media and law experts have pointed out the utter ambiguity of its definition for "national security," criticizing that the law would impose tough penalties, including a maximum of 10 years in prison, on those who leak sensitive information or attempt to obtain it, and that these penalties are too broad and vague.

They also warn the law would allow the government to freely manipulate public opinion without having to disclose the reason " forever." Endi

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