Japan Upper House Panel OKs Intelligence Council Bill

Tokyo, May 26 (Jiji Press)–The Cabinet Committee of Japan’s House of Councillors on Tuesday approved a bill to establish a national intelligence council aimed at strengthening the government’s intelligence capabilities. The bill is expected to be approved at a plenary meeting of the upper chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, on Wednesday. The government plans to set up the council and a national intelligence bureau that would serve as the council’s secretariat, as the first round of intelligence reform sought by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. “We’ll establish a system to respond in an integrated and comprehensive manner to threats and challenges that go beyond the boundaries of government ministries and agencies,” Takaichi said at a committee meeting prior to the day’s vote. “Strengthening command center functions through the bill is the first step of the reform,” she added. As the second round of reform measures, the prime minister aims to establish a foreign intelligence agency and anti-espionage legislation. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]