Overview
- The 17-member expert panel held its first meeting on Monday, September 28, chaired by Professor Toshiya Watanabe, to begin work on a National Intelligence Strategy and related laws.
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the panel the aim is to boost measures against foreign interference, improve external intelligence collection, and complete the strategy by January 2027.
- Panel members will deliberate specific proposals including a Foreign Interference Prevention Law, a foreign‑agent registration system, consideration of a new external intelligence agency, and options for targeted communications collection.
- Civil liberties advocates and some reporters warn the planned expansion of powers risks greater domestic surveillance unless legal definitions, penalties, and independent oversight are clearly limited.
- The panel follows July moves that created a National Information Council and National Information Bureau and responds to reported threats such as technology leakage, state‑linked cyberattacks, and disinformation, with the expert group meeting roughly monthly until its June 2029 mandate ends.