Bill to Establish National Intelligence Council Clears Lower House

TOKYO, Apr 23 (News On Japan) - Japan's House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to establish a National Intelligence Council aimed at strengthening the government's intelligence-gathering and analytical capabilities.

The proposed council, to be chaired by the prime minister, would serve as the command center for collecting and analyzing information to support government decision-making. A new National Intelligence Bureau would also be created as its secretariat.

At the insistence of opposition parties, a supplementary resolution attached to the government-sponsored bill includes provisions stating that personal information and privacy must not be unnecessarily infringed, and that intelligence gathering must not undermine political neutrality.

The bill was approved at a plenary session of the lower house with support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin, as well as the Centrist Reform Alliance and the Democratic Party for the People.

With some opposition parties backing the measure, it is expected to clear the House of Councillors despite the ruling bloc's minority status there, paving the way for enactment during the current Diet session.

Source: TBS

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