Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party approved plans to beef up the country’s intelligence capability, a party official said yesterday, as Takaichi pushes ahead with a defense overhaul.
Takaichi has vowed to make Japan “strong and prosperous” through key policy changes including in defense and intelligence.
The proposal, agreed by the intelligence strategy headquarters of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), includes establishing an upgraded intelligence bureau and bolstering “foreign intelligence collection capabilities,” an LDP official said.
Photo: Reuters
It calls for a mandatory registration system for foreign agents — such as people and corporations lobbying within Japan on behalf of other governments — as part of counterintelligence measures.
The plan, which also includes a ban on the use of mobile phones in key government buildings, is expected to be submitted to Takaichi next week, the Asahi Shimbun and other local media reported.
“One of the central pillars of the major policy shift [under Takaichi] is a fundamental strengthening of intelligence,” LDP policy chief Takayuki Kobayashi said. “Simply creating an organization on paper is utterly meaningless; the question is how we can turn it into a truly living, functioning body.”
Separately, the LDP on Wednesday proposed changes to Japan’s stringent rules on exporting military equipment to enable exports of lethal weapons, local reports said.
Takaichi has also said that she plans to revise three key national security policy documents this year to reflect the changing security environment.
The prime minister has vowed that Japan would steadfastly protect its territory, waters and airspace.
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) told the Munich Security Conference earlier this month that forces in Japan were seeking to “revive militarism.”
While Takaichi has said in parliament that she would not change the rules, local media have reported that the prime minister is considering allowing US nuclear weapons into Japanese territory — a revision to the country’s non-nuclear principles of not producing, possessing or permitting the introduction of such weapons into the country.
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