from the-japan-news.com: In response to a recent crisis in which two Japanese nationals were
abducted and killed by the militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant, a Liberal Democratic Party project team examining
intelligence and security issues will soon start discussions on
strengthening the government’s information-gathering capabilities,
sources said.
Chaired by House of Representatives’ lawmaker
Takeshi Iwaya, the team will also discuss the pros and cons of setting
up an independent intelligence organization such as the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States and Britain’s Secret
Intelligence Service (often known as MI6), according to the sources.
The team is set to explore comprehensive measures to bolster the
current system, in addition to the establishment of an intelligence
agency. It plans to hold hearings with experts on the U.S. and British
organizations, as well as to learn firsthand about the British model in
the summer. The team aims to compile a proposal by autumn, the sources
said.
Japan does not have an independent entity dedicated to
intelligence, mainly due to strong public aversion. Launched at the end
of 2013, the country’s National Security Council was founded to analyze
information gathered by relevant government bodies — such as the foreign
and defense ministries, and the National Police Agency — and see that
such information is used effectively in official policies.
During
last month’s hostage incident, the government is believed to have
depended heavily on the Jordanian and Turkish governments to gather
information on the two Japanese nationals, which has resulted in calls
to reexamine Japan’s intelligence-gathering system.
Hello Mr. West,
ReplyDeleteI would like to know what is meant by the image and the text "What could go wrong?"
It seems sarcastic, and if the issue is obvious to everyone, then please enlighten me on why it is so; it seems natural for any country to have a proper intelligence gathering system, and in fact, I didn't know that Japan did not have a proper independent body. The public's naive aversion is understandable due to their obsession of privacy and the brutal secret police monster that sleeps under their beds. However this crisis sheds light upon the fact that it is careless to not have an independent intelligence organization, not only for foreign information, but also for domestic issues since corruption has always been a problem. In other words what is the difference that makes it justified for the US, UK etc. to have intel while it isn't for Japan and other countries? Is it due to the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security?
Thank you!
Yes the image and text is sarcastic in nature. Given the long, extremely disturbing and well documented history of the CIA's (and their affiliate agencies) involvement in all sort of horrendously criminal activities such as drug running, illegal surveillance, torture, rendition, kidnappings, mass-murder etc. It would seem obvious that the creation of another such agency anywhere in the world is a huge step in the wrong direction.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion there is no and has never been any justification, in any country for the existence of these types of incredibly secretive agencies other than to further grow the power and influence of people in positions of power who harbor extremely dangerous ideologies.
So this strong public aversion to such agencies seems to me like a rather logical and rational stance to take, given the dark history the CIA and MI6 and the rest posses. They really have no place whatsoever in peaceful societies.