The Japanese are trying to step up to the challenges of our day.
Post-WW2 Japan has operated under significant limitations on its military (the Self-Defense Forces) and its intelligence agencies.
But right now, the Asian island-nation is leaving these restraints in the past, as the new government tries to build a centralized intelligence agency – something that is only natural in most countries, but still controversial there.
Japanese leaders have privately approached partners such as the United States, Australia, and Germany in recent months for advice on technology, staffing, and priorities, according to interviews with officials from Japan and elsewhere. The conversations have not been previously reported.
BREAKING: Japan is reportedly building its first centralized intelligence agency since World War II with help from the U.S., Australia, & Germany.
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) July 13, 2026
The New York Times reported:
“Japan’s intelligence system has long been fragmented, with defense officials, diplomats, the police and others collecting and analyzing information without sharing intelligence across departments. That has left the country especially vulnerable to espionage and foreign interference, experts say.
Creating a domestic intelligence agency is a pillar of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s efforts to shed restrictions on defense and security imposed on Japan after the war, as Japan faces multiplying threats from China, Russia and North Korea.”
NEW: Japan said that it recognised the need to counter foreign intelligence better after the New York Times reported that Russia had turned the country into a “den of spies” and key source of weapons components
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) July 13, 2026
Sanae Takaichi has reversed bans on weapons exports and is presiding over the ‘biggest defense buildup in the postwar era’.
The Prime Minister wants Japan to be able to protect state secrets and vital technologies.
“Intelligence officials from the United States, Japan’s main security ally, have offered input on cyber-defense systems and methods of countering industrial espionage, according to two people familiar with the conversations. The Americans also have weighed in on ways to strengthen scrutiny of foreign investments and agents operating in Japan.
[…] Ms. Takaichi and her allies have defended the agency, part of a slate of proposed changes to Japan’s security system. Ms. Takaichi wants Japan to strengthen its counterespionage laws, and she has also expressed support for the idea of creating a dedicated foreign intelligence service akin to the C.I.A. Japan is one of only a few world powers without such an agency.”
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