Amid the chaos from the outbreak of the war in Iran, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s Cabinet approved a bill on March 13 to establish the National Intelligence Secretariat and its central coordinating body ¡ª the National Intelligence Council.
The former will be granted ¡°comprehensive coordination authority¡± to consolidate intelligence currently dispersed across various ministries and agencies, while the latter ¡ª chaired by the prime minister ¡ª will formulate the ¡°National Intelligence Strategy,¡± which serves as the mid- to long-term basic policy for intelligence.
At first I was delighted with the news, thinking that a full-fledged external intelligence service was finally being established in Japan.
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