TOKYO, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan's intelligence framework has entered a new phase after the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi launched the national intelligence bureau and held the national intelligence council's inaugural meeting on Friday.
The bureau, an upgrade from the Cabinet intelligence and research office, serves as the secretariat for the council, a central command body headed by the prime minister and composed of top ministers.
Analysts say the move marks the first step in the Takaichi administration's reform of Japan's intelligence structure, with plans to further strengthen domestic and overseas intelligence operations and upgrade the country's intelligence capabilities.
They argue that the changes are not merely an administrative restructuring, but part of Japan's broader push toward military expansion and a more assertive security posture.
CENTRALIZATION OF INTELLIGENCE AUTHORITY
The establishment of the national intelligence bureau and the national intelligence council follows legislation passed by Japan's parliament in May to create the national intelligence council.
Under the new framework, the council will serve as the core body coordinating Japan's national intelligence system by integrating intelligence functions from multiple government agencies, including the National Police Agency, the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry, effectively becoming the "command center" for intelligence operations.
The bureau, meanwhile, serves as the council's administrative body and coordinates intelligence activities across government departments, maintaining a staff size of about 730 personnel and the functions of its predecessor. However, the bureau's director will now hold a rank equivalent to the head of the National Security Secretariat, placing the position directly under the prime minister's authority.
Kazuya Hara, who had served as director of Cabinet intelligence since June 2023 and held senior positions at the National Police Agency, assumed the post of the bureau's first director. Specializing in national security affairs, Hara also served at Japan's embassies in Russia and the United States.
The establishment of the bureau had already sparked domestic concerns during the legislative process over the possible expansion of government power.
Chen Jingjing, an associate researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the newly created bureau is on the same level as the National Security Secretariat established in 2014, and both report directly to the prime minister.
This means Japan's security and intelligence affairs will become increasingly centralized under the prime minister, further concentrating power, Chen added.
EXPANDING INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION AT HOME AND ABROAD
The establishment of the two intelligence bodies is only the first step in Takaichi's planned intelligence reform.
According to Japanese media reports, the government plans to draft the country's first national intelligence strategy and push forward legislation for an anti-espionage law, with the aim of submitting a bill during the regular Diet session next year. Japan also plans to establish an external intelligence agency by March 2028 to strengthen foreign intelligence operations.
Analysts say these measures indicate that Japan is restructuring its entire intelligence architecture, creating a centralized intelligence system, while strengthening both domestic surveillance capabilities and overseas intelligence gathering.
Sun Zhenggang, a Chinese scholar based in Japan, believes that the reforms aim to enhance Japan's ability to collect and analyze intelligence in areas including so-called "hybrid threats," economic security, cyberspace and outer space.
In the long term, Japan appears to be seeking to reduce its dependence on the United States in intelligence matters and build an independent, comprehensive intelligence system to support what it calls "strategic autonomy," Sun said.
ANOTHER STEP TOWARD REMILITARIZATION
The intelligence reforms promoted by the Takaichi administration have triggered controversy in Japan. Many local media outlets have compared the moves with the Tokko, Japan's notorious Special Higher Police, and the Peace Preservation Law before and during World War II, both associated with government surveillance and suppression of dissent.
The Tokko was a secret police organization used by Japan's pre-war government to suppress domestic social movements and enforce ideological surveillance, operated under the legal framework of the Peace Preservation Law. Enacted in 1925, the infamous law was initially used to crack down on anti-war activists, labor movements and left-wing scholars, but its scope later steadily expanded until it ultimately affected the entire population.
Japan's Tokyo Shimbun previously warned that past Japanese administrations have already pushed for the enactment of various laws involving public surveillance; should Takaichi succeed in establishing a national intelligence bureau, an external intelligence agency, as well as an anti-espionage law, state surveillance of the public will inevitably intensify further.
Since taking office, Takaichi has accelerated policies aimed at expanding Japan's military capabilities. The ruling party has openly advocated discussions on revising Article 9 of the pacifist constitution, which renounces war as a sovereign right and prohibits Japan from maintaining war potential, a move Takaichi herself has repeatedly expressed a desire to pursue.
Chen pointed out that as control over Japan's intelligence system becomes increasingly concentrated in the hands of the prime minister, security decision-making could become more "centralized" and "opaque." This could weaken parliamentary oversight and public scrutiny, creating fewer constraints on attempts by right-wing forces to revise the constitution.
Analysts say that Japan's intelligence reforms provide institutional support for military expansion and reflect Tokyo's ambition to break away from postwar restrictions in pursuit of becoming a so-called "normal country." The developments, they argue, reveal Japan's continued shift toward remilitarization. ■
