Dr.

Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law

University, Lucknow

B.A.LL.B(Hons.), Semester II

Subject: English

Final Draft

Topic: Position Paper on Internet Censorship: An

Infringement on the Right of expression

Under the supervision of Submitted By:

Dr. Alka singh Himani Jaggi

Assistant Professor Roll no. 57
 Acknowledgement
I am thankful to my subject teacher, Dr. Alka Singh, for letting me take this important issue
as my project and also for guiding my way through it. I am also thankful to her for
encouraging me to make this with great zeal and enthusiasm. I am also thankful to the library
staff, and my college which has given me such a good and useful library, which has helped
me throughout the making of this project. I would also like to present my heartiest gratitude
to my friends and classmates for their views and support throughout the time.
 Japan
Committee- Human Rights Council
Country- Japan
Delegate- Akriti, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow, U.P.

Agenda 1: Internet Censorship: An infringement on the right of expression?

The State of Japan prides itself on the value that it accords to the Freedom of Expression
guaranteed to every Japanese citizen by Article 19 of the Japanese Constitution. It is the
belief of the State of Japan that Freedom of Expression is one of the foremost civil liberties
that a citizen of every nation must be afforded.

The Internet in the last decade has emerged as the primary medium of public expression,
dialogue and communication – especially in Japan which has the third highest number of
Internet users in the world, with 80 per cent of the population online.

As the importance of the Internet as one of the most accessible methods of public expression
has risen, so has the motivation of political entities and nations to attempt to control the
information that can freely be posted online and is instantly at the disposal of the online
population.

Japan strongly opposes any form of Internet Censorship which curtails any fundamental or
human rights of an individual. Any government or political entity which supports Internet
Censorship only does so to protect itself from public opinion and to subdue any dissent. Japan
believes that for a welfare state, any form of censorship of communication media is an
infringement on a basic civil liberty of an individual.

However, Japan recognises that like any free and open medium, there exist individuals with
nefarious designs which may have the motivation to use the Internet for activities which may
cause direct or indirect harm to a nation or their citizens. This may include information
inciting political rebellion or separatism, child pornography, information inciting violence or
providing the means to create explosive devices, amongst many others.
Japan is therefore of the view that while the advantages of an open medium cannot be
discounted, and the Freedom of Expression of an individual cannot be curtailed, it also
believes that information openly available on the Internet must be kept under surveillance by
Internet Service Providers under government directives. It is only when the legality of the
content posted is under question that it must be the prerogative of the concerned authorities to
remove the offensive information.

It is in the best interests of democracy to remain faithful to its definition. The Internet is a
medium where censorship only goes so far as to alienate the people from their government.
Forward thinking democracies such as Japan see the Internet as a means to form a closer
rapport with its people in order to serve their best interests as their government.

Japan urges all member nations to adopt a similar position and hopes for an open, neutral and
accessible Internet.
 References
 www.tokyotimes.com
 timesofindia.indiatimes.com
 www.nytimes.com
 www.japantimes.co.jp
 www.anr.org