Japan is launching a new centralized intelligence body for the first time since World War II — a controversial move that some fear deviates from Tokyo’s pacifist ideals, but one others say is much needed in a country so riddled with security weaknesses it has been called a “paradise for spies.”
The National Intelligence Bureau formally launched on Friday, replacing previous structures criticized as disjointed and ineffective. Experts say it lays the foundation for broader changes that could include an anti-spy law and a new external foreign intelligence agency similar to the CIA in the US or MI6 in the UK.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has spearheaded these efforts since she was elected last October. “These measures are merely the first step in intelligence reform,” she said on Monday. “As we look at the increasingly unstable global situation, it is imperative that we address new methods of warfare.”
What Is the New National Intelligence Bureau?
Until now, Japan’s main intelligence body has been the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, which has about 700 employees but holds little authority. Other intelligence teams across various ministries often fail to share information in a cohesive way.
From Friday, CIRO has been upgraded to the National Intelligence Bureau, an operational and administrative body that collects and analyzes intelligence from various government bodies. Other ministries are now formally required to share their information.
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.
Why Is It Necessary?
Japan has significant intelligence weaknesses — remarkable for an advanced country that plays a critical geopolitical role.
It doesn’t have its own foreign intelligence service, unusual compared with other major US allies like the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. It also doesn’t have an anti-espionage law, meaning foreign spies can collect information from within Japan “without breaking the law,” said Philip Shetler-Jones, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.
“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,” said James D.J. Brown, a professor of political science at Temple University’s Japan campus.
A bombshell New York Times investigation in July laid out how Moscow exploited these weaknesses to obtain and smuggle Japanese components into Russia — which were then used in missiles and drones against Ukraine.
Why Now?
Things look very different now for both Japan and the world. Enough time has passed that memories of the war — and fears of returning to a police state — have eased among the Japanese public. There’s also a growing recognition that Japan faces new and powerful threats.
Just across the sea lie North Korea, China, and Russia, which all have powerful spying capacities that Japan isn’t fully equipped to fend off. As a US ally that hosts about 55,000 American troops on military bases, Japan makes an attractive target.
Takaichi, who has vocally supported beefing up Japan’s security capabilities, now commands a historic supermajority in parliament after a landslide election victory this February — clearing the way to enact legislative changes with minimal opposition.
The Controversy
Not everyone is behind the push for intelligence reform. A number of lawmakers opposed the bill, and more than 200 people attended a protest against it in May.
“A nation’s intelligence apparatus is one of its most powerful institutions, and if allowed to run amok, it could seriously and unjustly infringe upon the human rights of its citizens,” said Makoto Oniki of the Constitutional Democratic Party, according to NHK.
The next items on Takaichi’s agenda — an anti-espionage law and a foreign intelligence service — will likely court even more controversy.
Critics have raised concerns about oversight mechanisms. With Japan’s new intelligence body, “We haven’t seen as much as we might have expected about oversight mechanisms, and so I think it’s quite reasonable for people to continue to ask about that,” said Shetler-Jones.
The Bottom Line
Japan has launched its first centralized intelligence agency since World War II, upgrading its Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office to the National Intelligence Bureau. The move comes amid growing threats from China, Russia, and North Korea, and follows a bombshell investigation revealing Russia exploited Japan’s intelligence weaknesses. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who commands a supermajority in parliament, has signaled further reforms, including an anti-spy law and a foreign intelligence service. Critics have raised concerns about oversight and human rights.
