‘Paradise for spies’ no more: Japan launches first centralised intelligence body since WWII
Japan has pushed for a sweeping intelligence reform and launched its first centralised intelligence body since World War II. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pushes for sweeping security reforms in the face of growing regional threats.The National Intelligence Bureau formally launched on Friday, is an upgrade to the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, which held little authority. It has now been turned into an operational body that collects and analyses intelligence from various government ministries. Other ministries are now formally required to share their information, according to CNN.“This is merely the first step in intelligence reform,” Takaichi said on Monday. “As we look at the increasingly unstable global situation, it is imperative that we address new methods of warfare.”The bureau will be overseen by the newly formed National Intelligence Council, headed by Takaichi and composed of top ministers. Its scope includes counterterrorism efforts, national emergency response, and countermeasures against foreign intelligence such as spy activity or covert influence operations.Japan has long been considered an intelligence weak link. Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone warned in 1983 that Japan had become a “paradise for spies,” but his proposal for an anti-espionage law drew widespread backlash and failed to pass.The country lacks its own foreign intelligence service and an anti-espionage law, meaning foreign spies and local informants can collect information from within Japan “without breaking the law,” Philip Shetler-Jones, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told CNN.“It’s an anomaly because of the postwar situation. The occupation of Japan, followed by the security relationship with America, meant that the government of Japan didn’t really have to do a lot of that work because they were defended by America,” he said.A New York Times exclusive also reported on how Russia was taking advantage of this weak link in Japan to carry out espionage related activities to obtain and smuggle Japanese components into Russia, which were then used in missiles and drones against Ukraine.
Why now?
The security environment has shifted dramatically. North Korea, China and Russia, which all have powerful spying capacities are continuously building upon them. As a US ally that hosts about 55,000 American troops on military bases, Japan makes an attractive target.Japanese people are also more alarmed because these three countries are “more aligned now than they have been for many years,” Shetler-Jones said.Takaichi, who has vocally supported beefing up Japan’s security capabilities, now commands a historic supermajority in parliament following a landslide election victory in February, clearing the way to enact legislative changes with minimal opposition.
Controversy and concerns
Not everyone supports the push for intelligence reform. A number of lawmakers opposed the bill to establish the National Intelligence Bureau, and more than 200 people attended a protest against it in May ahead of the parliamentary vote, according to public broadcaster NHK.Concerns remain that the reforms could lead to a surveillance state. The next items on Takaichi’s agenda, an anti-espionage law and a foreign intelligence service similar to the CIA or MI6, will likely draw even more controversy.“There are laws around the world like this that are perfectly fine and democratic, but there are also authoritarian regimes that use such laws in order to prosecute critics,” James D.J. Brown, a professor of political science at Temple University’s Japan campus, told CNN. Russia, for instance, often accuses dissidents of being foreign agents.“Japan is being seen as quite leaky — and if that’s the case, others won’t be so willing to share information because the next day you might find that it’s appearing in the papers, or it’s been leaked to a foreign power,” Brown told CNN.
Counterintelligence challenges
Japan currently lacks a comprehensive anti-espionage law, according to The Diplomat. The primary law touching on counterintelligence is the 2013 Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets, which allows government agencies to limit access to certain information and provides for incarceration of up to ten years for unauthorized disclosure.To strengthen counterintelligence, the Takaichi administration supports passing a law requiring the registration of foreign agents in Japan, similar to the United States. However, significant work remains, including clearly defining what information is covered by anti-espionage laws and establishing legislative oversight committees.“Counterintelligence is a critical part of the broader intelligence mission,” The Diplomat noted, adding that Japan must decide how to carry out this mission while respecting democratic norms protecting free speech and expression.
