Tokyo, Oct. 7 (Jiji Press)–University students in Japan have rushed to participate in an event allowing them to experience government intelligence jobs, at a time when the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seeks to boost the country’s intelligence capabilities. The Public Security Intelligence Agency sought around 15 participants for the Sept. 20 event, but received more than 200 applications. The number of applications was over 10 times the quota, up from around five times last year. This year’s event drew “a greater response than ever before,” said an agency official in charge of recruitment. The Takaichi administration aims to reform Japan’s intelligence capability. In July, the government launched the National Intelligence Council and the National Intelligence Bureau. Meanwhile, recent television dramas and movies have featured intelligence organizations. Against this backdrop, a senior official of the agency said, “Public interest in intelligence organizations is growing.” During the intelligence job experience event, participating students worked on a human intelligence operation under the assumption that they obtained information that a certain country was planning a cyberattack on infrastructure. “I was able to imagine a specific intelligence job,” said a third-year university student who became interested in intelligence activities after watching the popular TV drama series “Vivant.” “I applied (for the event) because I thought it’s cool to protect public safety,” said another third-year student. “It was difficult to clearly communicate only urgent information,” she added. “Intelligence is essential for policy decisions,” said Masayuki Takeda, head of the agency’s personnel division. “It will become more important in the future.” While the number of students aspiring to become government employees is on a long-term declining trend, Takeda encouraged those who “wish to protect the people through the power of information” to apply to work at the agency. “Collecting information on the front line is a challenging job,” Takeda stressed. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
