May 27 & 28, 2026

Despite public protest, a bill on the creation of a “national intelligence council” aimed at enhancing the government’s intelligence capabilities was approved and enacted on May 27 in the House of Councillors plenary session.

The Japanese Communist Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the “Reiwa Shinsengumi” party, the parliamentary group “Okinawa Whirlwind”, and the Social Democratic Party voted against the bill. Along with the ruling Liberal Democratic and “Ishin” parties, opposition parties such as the Democratic Party for the People and the “Sanseito” party voted for the bill.

Under the bill, a “national intelligence council” and a “national intelligence bureau” will serve as the command center for the government’s spying activities, centralizing personal information and other information collected by government ministries and agencies.

On the previous day at an Upper House Cabinet Committee meeting, JCP lawmaker Daimon Mikishi used his question time to oppose the bill.

Daimon pointed out that the bill will enable the “national intelligence bureau” to consolidate and analyze personal information gathered by each government organization for its own purposes. However, he went on to point out, the bill fails to include a provision for supervising and monitoring such activities by a third-party organization and the Diet itself.

Stating that concerns about the increase in surveillance of citizens and the degree of violation of privacy are spreading among the general public, Daimon demanded that the bill be scrapped.

The JCP lawmaker also pointed out that the bill will work to beef up military cooperation between Japan and the U.S., including joint military operations, in line with the U.S. security strategy which covers the economic field. He stressed that the government’s stance subservient to the U.S., which wages wars in violation of international law and threatens other countries with economic pressure, harms Japan’s national interests.

Past related article:
> LDP proposes strengthening of spying and wiretapping capabilities [March 5, 2026]