Treason and sedition, crimes against the state. Treason is the crime of betraying a nation or a sovereign by acts considered dangerous to security. Sedition, though it may have the same ultimate effect as treason, refers generally to the offense of organizing or encouraging opposition to government in a manner (such as in speech or writing) that falls short of the more dangerous offenses constituting treason.
In English law, treason includes the levying of war against the government and the giving of aid and comfort to the king’s enemies. It is also treason to violate the king’s consort or his eldest unmarried daughter as well as the wife of his eldest son and heir.
In the United States, treason was defined restrictively by the framers of the Constitution. History had taught them that men in power might falsely or loosely charge treason against their opponents; therefore, they denied Congress the authority to enlarge or reshape the offense. Treason against the United States “shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them aid and comfort.” Although the phrase “aid and comfort” has been interpreted in various ways, the intentions of the framers of the Constitution have not been abused.

BR> The Japanese law of treason places special emphasis on acts designed to frustrate the country’s alliances with other powers. This is mainly a consequence of Japan’s renunciation of war after World War II. Therefore, a Japanese citizen may be punished for advocating that his country make war against another nation.
Sedition may include violent acts such as rebellion, but it is usually related to less dangerous activities leading toward such acts. Publication of seditious writings (“seditious libel”) or the utterance of seditious speech (“seditious words”) was made a crime in English common law. Modern statutes have been more specific. The display of a certain flag or the advocacy of a particular movement such as criminal syndicalism or anarchy has been declared from time to time to be seditious. In the United States after World War II, loyalty oaths were imposed for some government officials, and investigations and dismissals of certain public employees were made on the basis of their associations with suspect causes and groups.


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