Japan is building its first centralized intelligence agency since World War II, launching a National Intelligence Bureau this summer with roughly 700 staff under a council chaired by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, according to The New York Times.
That structural phase, passed by the Diet in May, is the easier half of the reform. A more contentious anti-espionage law is planned for later in 2026, and critics say oversight of the new bodies by the Diet and independent third parties remains insufficient, according to the Royal United Services Institute.
Russia’s use of Japan to evade sanctions has been the immediate catalyst, but China is the deeper pressure behind the reform. Japan’s National Police Agency has linked the China-based hacking group MirrorFace to more than 200 cyber incidents against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and JAXA, according to Infosecurity Magazine.
Takaichi has also lifted restrictions on weapons exports, advanced Japan’s largest postwar defense buildup, and backs eventually creating a dedicated foreign intelligence service comparable to the CIA, according to Al Jazeera.
