Japan Lower House to Pass Intelligence Council Bill Thurs.

Tokyo, April 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s House of Representatives is expected to pass a bill to establish a national intelligence council on Thursday, after the bill cleared the Lower House’s Cabinet Committee by a majority vote on Wednesday. In the committee vote, the bill, designed to strengthen the government’s intelligence capabilities, was supported by the Liberal Democratic Party-Japan Innovation Party ruling coalition, the Centrist Reform Alliance, the Democratic Party for the People, Sanseito and Team Mirai. The bill is also likely to be approved by the House of Councillors, where the ruling bloc lacks a majority, during the ongoing ordinary Diet session, thanks to support from some opposition parties. The government aims to launch the council in July. At a committee meeting prior to the vote, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara noted that the government “will give sufficient consideration to prevent personal information and privacy from being violated” in its intelligence-gathering activities. Kihara indicated that the government will compile documents outlining its medium- to long-term intelligence-gathering policies, submit them to the Diet, and publish them. DPFP lawmaker Miho Nomura said that the bill is expected to improve intelligence quality under the prime minister’s leadership. CRA member Atsushi Oshima said that it is essential to ensure democratic control over the council as any violation of citizens’ rights and freedoms will not be tolerated. The committee also adopted a supplementary resolution requiring the government not to collect election-related information that could benefit or disadvantage specific parties. The resolution states that the prime minister and the chief cabinet secretary will not order intelligence sections to gather information unrelated to their business. The DPFP submitted a bill to establish an intelligence system development headquarters under the cabinet, but it was voted down. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]