Ending dependence on the US: Japan overhauls intelligence and returns to the 'spy game'

A modest wooden sign with a handwritten inscription marked the launch of Japan's new "National Intelligence Bureau" on July 31. According to a report in The Economist, this deliberately understated unveiling hides a massive upheaval in the world of Japanese espionage, which until now has suffered from systemic weakness and fragmentation.

Since its defeat in World War II, legal and political restrictions have made it difficult for Japan to deal with foreign agents on its soil or to operate human agents overseas. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi defined the establishment of the new bureau and the National Intelligence Council as the first steps in a series of reforms necessary to navigate an increasingly dangerous world.

History shows that Japan was once a formidable intelligence power. During the Russo-Japanese War in the early 20th century, Japanese forces cracked codes, operated agents throughout the Far East, and funded subversive activities against the Tsar in Europe. However, after Japan's defeat, the imperial espionage architecture was largely dismantled. Attempts to create a new centralized service met with resistance from a public that remembered the secret police of the imperial era. Many Japanese leaders preferred to rely on the United States for intelligence matters, just as they did for national security in general.

Until recently, Japan's intelligence activity was scattered among departments in the ministries of foreign affairs, defense, and justice, as well as the police agency. The "Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office," officially the country's supreme intelligence body, lacked the authority to manage the fragmented agencies. As a senior Japanese official once complained, compared to the American CIA, Japanese intelligence was "comparable to a kindergarten."

According to The Economist, the current reforms are intended to help the Japanese intelligence community "grow up" quickly. The new bureau will have the authority to collect information from all ministries and produce integrated analyses. Meanwhile, the Intelligence Council, headed by the Prime Minister, allows the political echelon to set strategy and integrate findings into the decision-making process. Future steps include passing an anti-espionage law and establishing a new foreign intelligence agency.

The catalyst for this move is the growing threat from China, Russia, and North Korea, alongside rising anxiety in Tokyo regarding the reliability of the United States as a pillar of support. However, for these reforms to succeed, Japan must overcome "territorial wars" between intelligence agencies and the inexperience of politicians. In a recommendation document from the ruling party, parliamentarians were urged to be more involved, rather than behaving like passive customers who "order 'omakase' at a sushi restaurant."