Japan to Set Up National Intelligence Bureau on July 31

Tokyo, July 22 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government plans to establish a national intelligence bureau on July 31, which will serve as the secretariat for a planned national intelligence council, officials said Wednesday. The cabinet is expected to approve the plan as early as Friday. The bureau, an upgrade from the existing Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, will consolidate and comprehensively analyze intelligence gathered by government agencies. It will have an initial staff of around 700 personnel and be led by a director, a new position that will be an upgrade for the current cabinet intelligence director. The national intelligence council, to be chaired by the prime minister, will gather security-related information, including that related to counterterrorism, and discuss responses to influence operations by foreign spies. In late May, Japan’s parliament enacted a bill to establish the council. In a related move, the government plans to launch an expert panel as early as this summer to discuss anti-espionage legislation and a proposed external intelligence agency, based on a coalition agreement between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party in October. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]