Japan on May 27 passed a bill to establish a National Intelligence Agency, aimed at strengthening the country’s intelligence gathering and analysis capabilities.

The bill was approved by a majority vote with support from the ruling coalition and some opposition parties.

House of Councillors President Sekiguchi Masakazu / 187 in favor, 58 against. The bill is hereby passed.

Strengthening intelligence capabilities, including information gathering and analysis, has been one of the flagship policies of Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s administration.

Opposition parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, opposed the legislation during deliberations, arguing that the targets of intelligence activities were unclear.

Under the law, a National Intelligence Council headed by the prime minister will be newly established.

The council will oversee critical intelligence operations related to national security, counterterrorism, and counterespionage measures against foreign actors.

The current Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office will also be reorganized and upgraded into the National Intelligence Agency.

The government says the move is intended to strengthen its role as a centralized command center for intelligence gathering and analysis by reducing bureaucratic fragmentation among ministries and agencies.

At the same time, lawmakers adopted a supplementary resolution calling for the protection of personal information and privacy.

The resolution also includes a commitment not to conduct intelligence activities that would compromise political neutrality.

Prime Minister Takaichi has expressed support for creating an external intelligence agency focused on proactively gathering intelligence overseas, along with a system designed to prevent improper foreign interference, including espionage activities.