After the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' rank system may be changed to the old Imperial Japanese Army's terminology, the historically notorious "Tokkō" (Special Higher Police) is also returning.
On December 4th, the Japanese media "Economic News" cited sources saying that the government of Takahashi Sanae plans to establish a new intelligence agency - the "Japan National Intelligence Agency" in July next year. The Liberal Democratic Party will start the legislative process for establishing this department at the next session of the Diet as soon as possible.
Regarding this, some domestic media interpreted Japan's move as Takahashi Sanae's attempt to build an image of an "security strongman" or "political strongman" by establishing the National Intelligence Agency - this view has some rationality but is not comprehensive.
The photo selected by Reuters is very subtle
In fact, "establishing the Japan National Intelligence Agency" is not a sudden idea of Takahashi Sanae, but a consistent demand of Japanese right-wingers - as early as 2022, Ishihara Shigeru had claimed that Japan "needs such an intelligence department," and the establishment of similar institutions was "imminent."
This October, after the Liberal Democratic Party and the Restoration Party reached a cooperation agreement, the "establishment of the National Intelligence Agency" was formally written into the two parties' cooperation program, so Takahashi Sanae's current actions are merely following the routine to fulfill the commitment of the ruling coalition.
Certainly, to understand why the "National Intelligence Agency" is seen as a "reform of Japan's current system," we first need to understand the current state of Japan's post-war intelligence system.
Shigeru Ishihara proposed establishing the Japan National Intelligence Agency in 2022
Japan's intelligence collection and analysis capabilities are not lacking, but they have a "decentralized" and "weak authority" characteristic - agencies with intelligence collection and analysis functions are scattered across multiple departments including the Cabinet Intelligence Research Office, the International Information Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Defense Ministry's Intelligence Headquarters, the Public Security Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, and the International Crime Investigation Bureau of the Police Agency.
Although these departments theoretically have a cooperation mechanism, in practice, joint analysis only occurs during major events, making it difficult to achieve efficient integration and sharing of intelligence.
Although Japan later established the National Security Bureau to obtain intelligence from various departments, the function of this institution focuses more on policy recommendations, lacking unified command and coordination authority.
The reason why Japan has long maintained this decentralized intelligence collection and analysis mechanism is fundamentally due to the constraints of the post-war system.
However, when these spies were caught overseas, the Japanese government often "abandons them"
Before and during World War II, Japan established several intelligence agencies, among which the most notorious was the "Special Higher Police," known as the "Tokkō," these departments became symbols of Japan's militarism implementing terror rule domestically and aiding aggression abroad, and were cleared after the war.
During the Cold War, although the United States tacitly allowed Japan to rebuild its intelligence agencies, in order to facilitate control and prevent the "Tokkō" from reviving, the U.S. insisted that Japan disperse authority and have mutual checks and balances, leading to this fragmented and decentralized structure of Japan's intelligence system.
Of course, Japan has not been without attempts to integrate these intelligence agencies, but such proposals have repeatedly failed, for example, in the 1950s, then Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru tried to establish a Japanese version of the CIA, but due to domestic protests and disputes over power between departments, it could not be fully realized, finally only establishing the Cabinet Secretariat's Research Office, which later became the Cabinet Intelligence Research Office.
The current structure of Japan's intelligence agencies
But after that, Japan did not give up trying to integrate these intelligence agencies, but instead turned to a slow gradual model, just like Japan's gradual progress in constitutional revision and military expansion, slowly breaking through the post-war system's restrictions on Japan's military and intelligence capabilities.
Therefore, the proposal by Takahashi Sanae's government to establish an intelligence agency cannot simply be seen as a reorganization of Japan's intelligence agencies, but rather one reflection of Japan's political right-wing shift and security strategy radicalization.
Historically, the special agencies represented by the "Tokkō" served as tools for Japan's militarists to expand their foreign aggression. Now, under the guise of "reform," Takahashi Sanae is reorganizing domestic intelligence agencies, which will inevitably bring security risks to the Asia-Pacific region.
For neighboring countries that have suffered greatly from Japanese imperialism, this is undoubtedly a very dangerous signal.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7580679814526190114/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.