Economic Security Bill

In Japan, the ruling parties have approved the last draft of a bill that promotes economic security. This bill specifies the imposition of penalties for offenders in the private sector in all its four fields. The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet of Ministers, approved this bill in an attempt to abate the risks linked with the dynamic changing geo-economic and geo-political circumstances.

Kavan Choksi Japan is an esteemed entrepreneur and an expert in business and financial matters. According to him, enhancing the economic security in the nation is one of the key policy agendas that the Prime Minister has proposed in the increasing rivalry between China and the USA. Moreover, the current coronavirus pandemic has also prompted the government of Japan to consider the supply chain strategy of the nation as well.

This Economic Security Bill has a focus on four areas, and they are as follows-

  • Boosting the security of key infrastructure
  • Reinforcing the stability of the supply chain
  • Facilitating the private-public cooperation on the development of edge-cutting technology
  • Keeping patents on the technology secrets that are sensitive

Areas the bill will cover

According to eminent politicians in the nation, economic security extends to a large number of areas, so it is not quite realistic to include everything at once. The above areas are serious issues, so Japan’s government is now seeking to create legal systems in these areas. This was announced at a news conference by the Minister in charge of economic security, Takayuki Kobayashi. 

Aim of the Bill  

The primary purpose of economic security is to enable Japan to make independent choices in policy matters rather than being impacted by other nations’ moves. This bill is expected to be deliberated during the current parliamentary session, and the Japanese government anticipates DIET will clear it in June.

This bill will boost the nation’s economic security and result in the nation getting more strength and independence for technology that will finally promote Japan’s presence in the world community.

For the supply chains, this bill calls out for financial aid for ensuring specified goods that are important and designated by national ordinances.

The penalties cover fines and terms for prison for reports that are false by the public and other private institutions of finance for offering supply chain aid with operators of the infrastructure of critical infrastructure, and finally for the leaks of data on secret patents and public-private cooperation.

According to Kavan Choksi Japan, the nation is pursuing the footsteps of The United States, which is reinforcing its policy for its economic security for countering China. This new legislation has been designed to stop the leak of critical information and decrease the dependence on the imports of the second-largest economy in the globe.

This bill also calls for prior screening of investments and management regimes for fourteen kinds of critical infrastructure, including gas, financial services, and electricity, along with stringent rules for developing sophisticated technologies and patent management.