TOKYO, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government on Friday approved a bill to establish a national intelligence committee, a move that has drawn questions and concerns from the public.
The cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi plans to push for the bill's passage during the current parliamentary session and aims to formally establish the new national intelligence mechanism within this year.
The bill states that the new committee, chaired by the prime minister and composed of the chief cabinet secretary and relevant cabinet ministers, would be tasked with overseeing investigations into foreign intelligence activities related to national security and counter-terrorism.
The bill will also see the creation of a secretariat for the committee to serve as its operational arm, which would be vested with the power to "comprehensively coordinate" intelligence work across government ministries and agencies.
Japanese media and political figures have expressed concerns over the plan. A commentary published on Friday by Kyodo News stated that continued expansion of intelligence agency powers and strengthened social surveillance could lead to violations of personal privacy and undermine the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression.
The proposal has faced skepticism since the early stages of its development. Junya Ogawa, leader of the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, previously told a session of the House of Representatives that intelligence collected by the proposed secretariat could risk being used for political purposes.
An earlier editorial by Mainichi Shimbun also cautioned that even if the ruling party wins elections, it does not mean all of its policies automatically gain the trust of voters, warning that if the government collects citizens' private information without sufficient limits in the name of national security, public concerns may be difficult to dispel. ■
