Japan Lower House passes bill to set up national intelligence bureau

来源：NHK

责任编辑：儒亦

Japan's Lower House has passed by a majority vote a bill to create a national intelligence bureau as part of efforts to strengthen the government's intelligence capabilities. The bill is also expected to be approved at the Upper House during the current Diet session.

The Lower House held a final debate at a plenary session on Thursday before taking the vote.

Oshima Atsushi of the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance said he backs the bill as he recognizes the need to create a foundation to support sound decision-making by the government. He also said the government needs to directly address people's concerns that stepping up intelligence activities might lead to their lives being monitored.

Nomura Miho of the Democratic Party for the People said the creation of an intelligence bureau is commendable to a certain degree as it will improve the quality of intelligence under the prime minister's leadership. She strongly called for continued debate to achieve substantive intelligence reforms that do more than just create a new organization.

Sanseito's Kawa Yuichiro said the bill is a necessary step, but is still insufficient in the face of real threats. He added that anti-espionage legislation has not been prepared with it. He said the government needs to constantly work on developing an effective framework.

The bill was passed with a majority vote with support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party. Opposition parties that voted for the bill included the Centrist Reform Alliance, the Democratic Party for the People, Sanseito and Team Mirai.

The Japanese Communist Party and Reiwa Shinsengumi voted against it.

The bill has been sent to the Upper House. The ruling bloc lacks a majority in the upper chamber, but the bill is expected to be passed during the current Diet session with support from opposition parties, including the Democratic Party for the People and Sanseito.

The bill proposes giving the information bureau the authority to comprehensively gather and analyze information from ministries.

A Lower House committee has passed a supplementary resolution to ensure personal information and privacy of individuals are not unnecessarily infringed. It also states the government should not gather information in a way that undermines political neutrality.