Japan Police to Upgrade Intelligence Department to Bureau

Tokyo, Aug. 28 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s National Police Agency on Friday said that it will upgrade its Foreign Affairs and Information Department to a bureau, in order to improve the handling of espionage threats from other countries and foreign-affiliated organizations. The upgrading of the department, which is currently under the Security Bureau, will be part of the NPA’s organizational reform request for fiscal 2027. The move will come in response to the Japanese government’s efforts to enhance the nation’s intelligence functions, which include the establishment of the National Intelligence Bureau, and in light of increasingly complex global circumstances. Three divisions will be set up under the envisaged NPA bureau to improve the agency’s ability to detect and thwart influence operations targeting Japan. To address issues posed by “tokuryu” loosely organized anonymous criminal groups, the NPA will establish a director-general-level position. The appointed official will oversee measures to prevent damage by such groups and anti-money laundering efforts, as well as coordinate with overseas authorities and related departments and divisions. The Organized Crime Department, which was responsible for tokuryu-related measures, will be dissolved and integrated into the Criminal Affairs Bureau. The bureau will have four divisions, including one focused on organized crime. A new post of deputy commissioner will be established at the Kanagawa prefectural police department, which will become the third prefectural police force to have such a position after the Tokyo metropolitan and Osaka prefectural police departments. The NPA has requested 8.98 billion yen for expenses related to artificial intelligence under its fiscal 2027 budget request. The agency plans to utilize AI for measures to access and neutralize attackers’ servers, enhance cybersecurity and analyze social media posts for illegal part-time jobs and lone offenders, as well as to develop an app to detect and warn against special fraud. The agency’s total general-account budget request for the year starting next April stood at a record 445,175 million yen, up by 133,669 million yen from the fiscal 2026 budget. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]