CCPR/C/JPN/CO/6 Abduction and forced de-conversion 21. The Committee is concerned at reports of abductions and forced confinement of converts to new religious movements by members of their families in an effort to deconvert them (arts. 2, 9, 18, 26). The State party should take effective measures to guarantee the right of every person not to be subject to coercion that would impair his or her freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief. Restriction of fundamental freedoms on grounds of “public welfare” 22. The Committee reiterates its concern that the concept of “public welfare” is vague and open-ended and may permit restrictions exceeding those permissible under the Covenant (arts. 2, 18 and 19). The Committee recalls its previous concluding observations (see CCPR/C/JPN/CO/5, para. 10) and urges the State party to refrain from imposing any restriction on the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion or freedom of expression unless they fulfil the strict conditions set out in paragraph 3 of articles 18 and 19. Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets 23. The Committee is concerned that the recently adopted Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets contains a vague and broad definition of the matters that can be classified as secret and general preconditions for classification, and sets high criminal penalties that could generate a chilling effect on the activities of journalists and human rights defenders (art. 19). The State party should take all necessary measures to ensure that the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets and its application conform to the strict requirements of article 19 of the Covenant, inter alia by guaranteeing that: (a) The categories of information that could be classified are narrowly defined and any restriction on the right to seek, receive and impart information complies with the principles of legality, proportionality and necessity to prevent a specific and identifiable threat to national security; (b) No individual is punished for disseminating information of legitimate public interest that does not harm national security. Fukushima nuclear disaster 24. The Committee is concerned that the high threshold of exposure level set by the State party in Fukushima and the decision to cancel some of the evacuation areas give people no choice but to return to highly contaminated areas (arts. 6, 12 and 19). The State party should take all the necessary measures to protect the life of the people affected by the nuclear disaster in Fukushima and lift the designation of contaminated locations as evacuation areas only where the radiation level does not place the residents at risk. The State party should monitor the levels of radiation and disclose that information to the people affected in a timely manner. Corporal punishment 25. The Committee observes that corporal punishment is only prohibited explicitly in schools, and expresses concern at its prevalence and social acceptance (arts. 7 and 24). 8

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