In Japan, it was once forbidden to have ideas different from the majority.
In Japan, people used to be prohibited for having ideas that differed from the country's ideal.
日本では = in Japan
禁じられていた = (it) was forbidden / (it) was prohibited / (it) wasn't allowed
思想を持つ = to have thoughts / to have ideas / to think
国と違う = different from a country('s ideas, majority, values, traditions) / different from the majority (of a country) / differ from
People weren't allowed to have thoughts different from what they were told to think. はもう一つの言い方です。hiroさん、の言たいことは、一つの言い方があるではない。いろいろな文がつくることが出きる。一番言いやすいの方を選んでくださいね。
In Japan, holding ideologies that differed from the government's was prohibited.
・In Japan, holding ideologies...
「日本では思想を持つことが…」
hold（持つ、抱く）と組み合わせて hold an ideology（思想を持つ）と表現できます。
・that differed from the government's...
「政府の持つもの（思想）とは異なる…」
differ from〜 で「〜と異なる」という意味です。
アメリカ合衆国 
