Japan Creates Its First Central Spy Agency Since World War II

Breaking With Eight Decades of Restraint

Japan is setting up its first centralised intelligence agency since World War II, aiming to modernise its defence capabilities against spies, foreign interference, and other attacks from foreign adversaries. It is a move that would have been unthinkable for most of the past eight decades — and one that signals just how dramatically Japan's security calculus has shifted.

Japan's defeat in World War II left its citizens with deep distrust toward state surveillance, as the wartime Special Higher Police — known as the Tokko — monitored, arrested, and tortured citizens for their political beliefs. Article 9 of the constitution, drafted in 1947 shortly after the end of the war, renounced war, and Japan never built its own foreign intelligence service. Instead, it relied on the US. That era of deliberate restraint is now coming to an end.

A Fragmented System No Longer Fit for Purpose

Japan's intelligence system has long been fragmented, with defense officials, diplomats, police, and others collecting and analyzing information without sharing intelligence across departments — leaving the country especially vulnerable to espionage and foreign interference, experts say. The consequences of that vulnerability have become impossible to ignore.

The legislation creates two bodies: a National Intelligence Council that will act as the government's command centre for intelligence gathering and analysis, and an agency for operations. The reform transforms the existing Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office into a centralised National Intelligence Council and National Intelligence Bureau. Unlike Japan's current system, where intelligence responsibilities are divided among several agencies, the new organisation will serve as a central hub for collecting, analysing, and sharing information related to national security.

Researchers at the Citizen Lab have reported that China created websites posing as Japanese-language news outlets to spread pro-Beijing disinformation — a stark example of the kind of foreign interference Japan's new agency is designed to combat. Intelligence officials from the United States have already provided input on cyber defence systems, countering industrial espionage, and strengthening scrutiny of foreign investments and agents operating in Japan.

Western Allies Stepping In to Help

Western allies, including the United States, Germany, and Australia, are advising the Japanese government on establishing the new spy agency. This is not a casual partnership. Germany has joined the discussions, with the head of the country's foreign intelligence service recently visiting Tokyo to discuss the planned agency and ways to enhance intelligence-sharing. The US FBI has also endorsed the plan, signaling support on cybersecurity, counter-intelligence, and counterterrorism.

Legislation to establish the new agency passed the upper house of Japan's National Diet in May, a month after it cleared the lower house. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described the law as "a first step" towards strengthening the country's espionage capabilities. The agency has been allocated $407 million in funding and plans to be operational by December, with the prime minister at its helm.

A Nation Rearming — in More Ways Than One

In December, the cabinet approved its largest defence budget ever at $58 billion, as the Ministry of Defence said it needed to accelerate its "transformation." Takaichi has already lifted restrictions on weapons exports and advanced Japan's largest post-war defence build-up, while her government now seeks to bolster protection of state secrets, critical technologies, and counter foreign influence operations, particularly those attributed to China.

The new direction has led to antiwar protests in the streets of Japan, though a Jiji opinion poll in April showed only 19 percent were opposed to the new intelligence bill — about 40 percent were indifferent, and the rest were in favour. Experts have noted that the latest reforms do not amount to a return to the kind of espionage apparatus that could be used against Japanese civilians. Whether the Japanese public ultimately embraces or resists this transformation, one thing is clear: the pacifist posture that defined Japan for generations is giving way to something new — a nation determined to defend itself on every front, including the shadows.