Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (second from right) attends a Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on the morning of April 21. (©Sankei/Ataru Haruna)
Japan is undergoing a significant overhaul of its intelligence capabilities, with the Takaichi Administration pushing for the enactment of legislation this year that would establish a new apparatus that centralizes intelligence functions.
This reflects a growing recognition amongst policymakers that Japan is lagging at a time when speedy collection, analysis, and dissemination of information is critical to high-level policy-making. Threats abound, from security threats to information warfare to industrial espionage, all of which require a whole-of-government approach while taking into account concerns over rights to privacy and politically neutral handling of collected intelligence.
Intelligence reform pushes Japan forward on the path toward a "normal nation." Rather than viewing the latest push as an isolated case, intelligence should be viewed as one piece of a larger puzzle designed to achieve what Prime Minister Takaichi has called a "strong Japan."
Establishing a Centralized Body
The Lower House passed a bill on April 23 to establish a National Intelligence Council (NIC), chaired by the prime minister, to provide civilian control over a National Intelligence Secretariat (NIS). The Secretariat will be tasked with coordinating across ministries and agencies to provide intelligence to the central government.
The NIS would stand on equal footing with the National Security Secretariat (NSS), Japan's command center for national security and foreign policy. It would reorganize the existing Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office (CIRO), placing it above other intelligence bodies housed within various ministries and agencies.
The director of Cabinet Intelligence would be elevated to secretary-general of the NIS, a post equivalent in rank to a parliamentary vice-minister and the national security advisor, who heads the NSS.
Together, the new intelligence apparatus will be responsible for investigating and deliberating on countermeasures against critical intelligence activities and foreign intelligence activities, including influence operations.
Adapting to the Times
The need for centralized intelligence has long been recognized as necessary to break through the stove-piped nature of intelligence sharing within the Japanese government. While intelligence sharing has greatly improved since the creation of the NSS in 2013, the expanding nature of national security requires a centralized body capable of instructing all ministries and agencies to share relevant information quickly.
In addition, Japan faces its "most severe security environment" in the post-World War II era, where threats are increasing in number from China to Russia to North Korea and in scope from conventional warfare to new modes like information warfare and cyber-attacks. Recent conflicts across the globe, from Ukraine to the Middle East, have posed new challenges, including the importance of high-speed, high-quality intelligence.
Threats also come in the form of mis/disinformation during elections and foreign state actors attempting to influence public perception around diplomatic spats, such as the recent one with China.
Industrial espionage by China targeting critical and often dual-use technologies is prevalent as well, reflecting the growing intersection between economic activity and national security. There have been several high-profile cases in recent years in which company secrets or valuable research data were leaked to foreign individuals or entities likely working for foreign governments. Such instances make it clear that Japan needs a centralized intelligence body.
Becoming a "Normal Nation"
The latest push to overhaul Japan's intelligence apparatus cannot be understood in isolation. It is part of a wider effort to enhance comprehensive national power across diplomacy, intelligence, military, economy, and technology (DIMET) dimensions. Intelligence is just one part of the larger effort to reinforce the nation's capabilities and to be viewed by allies as a trustworthy partner with which the most sensitive information and technologies can be shared.
A series of measures, starting with the 2013 Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets, can be understood collectively as reforms to enhance comprehensive national power. These include the 2015 peace and security legislation enabling limited collective self-defense, the 2022 Economic Security Promotion Act, the 2024 Act on the Protection and Utilization of Critical Economic Security Information that extended the security clearance system to economic information, and the 2025 active cyber defense legislation.
The Takaichi administration intends to follow up the establishment of the NIC and NIS with a National Intelligence Strategy and the creation of a "Foreign Intelligence Service" similar to the US Central Intelligence Agency by the end of FY2027. It also plans to introduce Japan's first comprehensive anti-espionage legislation, modeled on systems such as the US Foreign Agents Registration Act, to identify individuals acting on behalf of foreign governments or businesses.
Taken together, these steps constitute major reforms meant to bring Japan one step closer to a "normal nation."
Unanswered Questions
While intelligence reform is long overdue, many challenges must be overcome for Japan to achieve intelligence-gathering capabilities comparable to those of its foreign counterparts.
The biggest concern is the violation of constitutional rights to privacy and freedoms of expression and communication that may come with the collection of intelligence. This issue has been addressed partially by a non-binding supplemental provision attached to the bill that urges the government to carefully consider privacy and political neutrality.
Another concern is the risk of politicization of the intelligence community, which under the proposed structure would report to the prime minister. That could lead to "cooked" intelligence that benefits political decisions, politically motivated intelligence activities related to elections, or the suppression of anti-government protests.
On a more technical note, Japan's domestic laws, such as those prohibiting identity fraud, may make it challenging to protect human intelligence sources, as well as restrict the extent to which the government can tap into electronic signals and online communications. Addressing such challenges will be key in the implementation of the new intelligence apparatus.
Intelligence reform has taken center stage in Japanese politics in 2026, with the Lower House already passing the legislation and the Upper House likely to approve it. Although Takaichi herself has acknowledged that the issue remains divisive among the public, she now appears well-positioned to push through this much-needed reform.
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Author: Rintaro Nishimura, Senior Associate in The Asia Group's Japan practice
