Japan passes bill to establish 100-person intelligence agency to counter information warfare

On Wednesday (May 27th), the Japanese government passed the "National Intelligence Council Establishment Bill" at the plenary session of the Senate. The analysis indicates that this means the authorities will significantly enhance their capabilities to deal with information warfare and improve national security.

The government of Prime Minister Takemi Masayo will, through this bill, expand the existing cabinet intelligence investigation office, plan to establish a national intelligence agency with a hundred members, and intends to promote the anti-espionage law and establish an external intelligence agency.

Japanese officials have long advocated strengthening intelligence capabilities in order to deter foreign spies, prevent terrorism, protect sensitive technologies and enhance national security.

After taking office, Takumi Asako attached great importance to this bill. This was a key commitment she made during her campaign for the position of the head of the Liberal Democratic Party last year, and it is also part of the party's election platform for the lower house this year. This bill has also been designated as an "important and wide-ranging bill" by the current parliament, mainly due to the increasingly complex security environment and the rapid escalation of information warfare among countries, including the spread of false information on social media.

The voting results in the upper house showed that apart from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party, the opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Japan, the Komeito Party and the coalition parties all voted in favor. Out of the total 245 seats, there were 187 votes in favor and 58 votes against.

After the bill was passed, Gao Shi said to the media: "In order to maintain peace and prosperity and prevent serious crises, it is crucial to establish a system where the intelligence community can provide strong support to decision-makers, enabling them to make reasonable decisions."

She also said: "In the complex and ever-changing international environment, this law will strengthen Japan's intelligence infrastructure, enhance its information capabilities, enabling us to effectively address severe challenges and protect the safety of citizens as well as safeguard national interests."

After the bill is passed, the authorities plan to establish a national intelligence agency with hundreds of staff members in July this year. The original cabinet intelligence investigation office will be dissolved. The new agency will have an equal status with the National Security and Security Service (NSS), and the national intelligence committee to be established will be chaired by the prime minister, with members including the cabinet secretary and nine ministers. The first national intelligence strategy is planned to be formulated by the end of the year, serving as a guideline for intelligence collection and analysis activities.

The scope of the National Intelligence Agency's investigation will also include the activities of foreign forces. After the establishment of the National Intelligence Agency, the authorities also plan to set up an independent foreign intelligence agency in 2027 or earlier, responsible for conducting intelligence collection activities overseas, and quickly formulating and promulgating anti-espionage-related laws to deal with the espionage activities of foreign forces.

Gao Shi pointed out that the dissemination of false information through social media by foreign forces during elections and other events is a pressing issue. The international competition in advanced technology fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) is also intensifying. From the perspective of economic security, it is necessary to integrate information from multiple policy areas including diplomacy, defense, economy and technology.

When asked about the establishment of an external intelligence agency for conducting overseas intelligence collection activities, Takai said: "At present, I cannot comment on the specific details, but we will carefully listen to all opinions and carefully and steadily consider each issue."

During the parliamentary deliberations, the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party demanded protection of personal information and respect for privacy, and also expressed deep concerns about the possibility of the government abusing intelligence. Before the bill was passed, there were demonstrators near the Japanese Parliament building holding signs reading "Oppose the National Intelligence Agency's Surveillance of Citizens" to protest.

To placate these opposition voices, Gao Shi stated that when drafting the document outlining the long-term activities policy of the intelligence agency, they plan to discuss specific measures aimed at preventing situations such as privacy violations.