Japan's Version of the CIA Set to Emerge as Diet Passes Bill to Create National Intelligence Service

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[Financial News, Tokyo = Reporter Seo Hye-jin] A bill to establish the National Intelligence Service, often described as Japan's version of the CIA, passed the National Diet of Japan on the 27th.
According to Nihon Keizai Shimbun, The Nikkei, and Yomiuri Shimbun, the bill to create the National Intelligence Service and its command body, the National Information Council, was approved at a plenary session of the House of Councillors of Japan in the afternoon.
\r\nThe core of the bill is to establish the National Information Council, chaired by the prime minister and composed of nine relevant ministers, including the Chairperson of the National Public Safety Commission, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Attorney General, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Under it, the National Intelligence Service is set to launch this summer.
The National Information Council will set basic policy on major intelligence issues related to security and terrorism, as well as responses to intelligence activities by foreign actors.
\r\nThe National Intelligence Service will serve as the secretariat of the National Information Council and gather information from intelligence agencies. At present, intelligence is collected separately by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Public Security Intelligence Agency, the foreign affairs and security divisions of the National Police Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Headquarters. The new system is expected to centralize collection and analysis, strengthening the command-and-control function.
The National Intelligence Service will be reorganized from the existing Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, a prime minister's office intelligence agency, and is scheduled to launch in July with a staff of about 700.
The National Intelligence Service and its director will hold the same rank as the National Security Secretariat, which plans Japan's foreign and security policy, and its director-general.
The creation of the National Information Council and the National Intelligence Service is one of the key policies Sanae Takaichi put forward in the House of Representatives election held in February.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi aims to strengthen the intelligence agencies' control tower function by having each agency collect and analyze information in a unified way.
The Japanese government also plans to set up an expert panel, draw up a "National Information Strategy," and move to improve laws aimed at preventing espionage.
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sjmary@fnnews.com Seo Hye-jin Reporter