Japan Lower House OKs Intelligence Council Bill

Tokyo, April 23 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to establish a national intelligence council designed to strengthen the government’s intelligence capabilities. At a plenary meeting of the lower chamber of the Diet, or the country’s parliament, the bill was approved by a majority vote, with support from the ruling pair of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party, as well as the Centrist Reform Alliance and the Democratic Party for the People from the opposition side. The Japanese Communist Party and some independent lawmakers opposed the bill. The bill is likely to be enacted during the ongoing Diet session with approval by the House of Councillors, the upper chamber, now that the DPFP is set to vote for the legislation in the Upper House as well. The ruling bloc lacks a majority in the upper chamber. “In a complex and harsh international environment, the bill’s passage will help the government make informed decisions based on high-quality information,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference after the Lower House meeting. The bill calls for setting up a national intelligence council to be headed by the prime minister and a national intelligence bureau that would serve as its secretariat. The planned council will investigate and discuss important intelligence activities related to national security and terrorism, and approve a basic policy for addressing influence operations by foreign entities. The position of director of the national intelligence bureau will be created by upgrading the current position of cabinet intelligence director. A statement that “sufficient consideration will be given” has been included in a supplementary resolution of the bill, in order to address concerns about possible privacy violations raised by opposition parties. To ensure political neutrality, the bill stipulates that the council will not collect information on elections, which could advantage or disadvantage specific political parties. Strengthening the nation’s intelligence capabilities is one of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s key policies. The government aims to launch the council in July and then plans to concentrate on discussions on an anti-espionage law and other issues. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]