- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says bureau is first step in broader intelligence reform
- New agency to have authority to compel cooperation, coordination among separate intelligence bodies
Japan launched its new National Intelligence Bureau on Friday in what is being described as one of the most significant postwar overhauls of the country’s intelligence architecture as the government seeks to strengthen intelligence capabilities and improve coordination among existing agencies.
Japan has long maintained intelligence bodies, but they have operated across separate ministries and institutions.
Under the new system, the National Intelligence Bureau will provide a central coordinating structure for intelligence collected by other bodies.
Kazuya Hara, who has served as director of Cabinet Intelligence since June 2023, has been appointed as the bureau’s first director.
How will the new system work?
Legislation enacted in May established two new bodies: a National Intelligence Council chaired by the prime minister to serve as a command center and the National Intelligence Bureau, created by upgrading the existing Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office (CIRO).
According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, both the council and the bureau will enable the government to make "sound decisions based on higher-quality, more timely intelligence."
The council has confirmed its future operational policy during its first meeting on Friday, including measures to safeguard sensitive information, Kihara said.
The bureau will serve as the council’s secretariat and coordinate and analyze information gathered across government.
One of the key changes is that the new structure is intended to give central intelligence authorities greater power to obtain information from other government agencies, which CIRO was not able to enforce, as it had limited authority to compel the sharing of intelligence.
The bureau is expected to initially employ around 730 personnel and have a budget of roughly $407 million, according to media reports.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has described the bureau as the first step in a broader intelligence reform.
"We have consistently stated that this act represents the first step in reforms to strengthen Japan's intelligence functions," she said during a press conference in May.
Her government is considering further measures, including anti-espionage legislation and a separate external intelligence agency that could eventually give Japan a capability more comparable to foreign intelligence services.
The government is expected to establish a panel under the council by autumn to discuss the new counterespionage legislation that could be submitted to next year's regular Diet session, according to Kyodo News.
Possible bills include measures to require a system for registering agents of foreign governments engaged in lobbying activities, as well as legislation to establish Japan's own foreign intelligence agency.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has also proposed several intelligence-related measures earlier, including penalties for foreign influence operations and expanded communications interception for national security purposes.
The reform comes as Tokyo adopts a more assertive security posture.
Takaichi has pushed for debate on revising Japan’s war-renouncing Constitution, while her government has accelerated defense spending and relaxed longstanding restrictions on arms exports.
Her remarks in November last year that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could pose a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan drew a sharp response from China, further straining bilateral relations.
The intelligence overhaul builds on an earlier effort by Takaichi’s mentor, the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who established the National Security Council and its secretariat in 2013 and 2014 to centralize national security decision-making.
It was modeled on the US National Security Council.
Critics express worry about potential misuse
Not everyone supports the new move.
Critics have raised concerns about privacy, surveillance and the potential misuse of expanded intelligence powers, as well as what this step means for the country's pacifist constitution.
Takaichi has rejected such concerns, saying the law governs relationships among administrative agencies and “does not increase such risks.”
China has also voiced concern.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning criticized the establishment of the bureau as “another negative development in Japan's domestic and external security policies,” saying that Tokyo's acceleration of "remilitarization" threatens “regional peace and stability,” according to state media.
She urged Japanese political leaders to “draw lessons from history and act prudently.”
China’s state-run Global Times has also highlighted the bureau’s July 31 launch date, noting that “731” was the designation of the Japanese military’s notorious germ-warfare unit during World War II. It called the establishment a “brazen challenge to the post-WWII international order.”
