Authorities in Japan are so worried about their inability to tackle cybercrime that they are asking the country’s ISPs to block the use of Tor. […]
According to The Mainichi: « [The panel], which was looking into measures to combat crimes abusing the Tor system, compiled a report on April 18 stating that blocking online communications at the discretion of site administrators will be effective in preventing such crimes. Based on the recommendation, the NPA will urge the Internet provider industry and other entities to make voluntary efforts to that effect. » […]
Tor is a valuable tool for activists who live under repressive regimes and anyone who might want to do something online anonymously (like whistleblowers for instance). Quite what « abuse » of Tor means is unclear. Since by definition you can’t really know what someone does when they’re using the service, it seems a blanket ban is the real intention. […]
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/japanese-police-ask-isps-to-start-blocking-tor/