On April 23, the lower house of Japan’s parliament passed a bill to establish a National Intelligence Council to strengthen the government’s security capabilities.
The new body will coordinate the fight against terrorism and foreign influence operations, reports The Japan Times.
The government plans to officially launch the council as early as July of this year following the expected approval of the bill by the upper house of parliament.
This law establishes a single coordination center for intelligence agencies, which will report directly to the prime minister. Instead of various agencies operating in isolation, the new structure will gather all critical information in one place to enable a rapid response to threats.
National Intelligence Bureau
Along with the council, a National Intelligence Bureau will be established to serve as a headquarters. The position of head of this structure will be created by elevating the status of the current director of the Cabinet’s Intelligence Office, which will give him greater weight and authority within the state hierarchy.
To protect citizens’ rights, provisions on mandatory privacy safeguards were added to the text to address the opposition’s concerns regarding potential surveillance. The council was also strictly prohibited from collecting any election-related data to ensure the body’s political neutrality.
After launching the new structure in July, the Japanese government plans to move on to discussing an anti-espionage law.
