Overview
- The 17-member expert panel held its first meeting on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, and named University of Tokyo emeritus professor Toshinao Watanabe as chair.
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the group the government will compile and publish a National Intelligence Strategy by January 2027 to guide upgrades to collection and analysis.
- Officials expect the panel to meet about once a month through June 2029 and to feed into a planned Foreign Interference Prevention Law that the government aims to pass in the 2027 ordinary Diet.
- Discussion items include a provisional external intelligence agency (対外情報庁) and possible laws to permit overseas intelligence collection, measures that could create criminal penalties and a foreign agent registration system.
- Civil liberty groups and some commentators warn the planned expansion of powers could increase surveillance and risk privacy and human rights, making oversight and legal limits central issues in coming debates.