Japan seeks to enhance intelligence capabilities to serve military expansion: expert

The Japanese government is pushing to establish an intelligence body to beef up its intelligence capabilities in support of its security policy and military expansion, a Chinese expert said on Monday.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported on Monday that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) planned to push for approval of a bill to create a national intelligence bureau in the Lower House within the week. Meanwhile, the country's opposition Centrist Reform Alliance questioned whether the bill would be able to address related concerns and demanded revisions to it.

Xiang Haoyu, a distinguished research fellow at the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies of the China Institute of International Studies, said that Japan's right-wing forces have long pursued the establishment of the intelligence bureau.

"The primary reason why Japan is rushing to establish a national intelligence bureau is to enhance its intelligence capabilities and strengthen a centralized, unified system, thereby supporting the country's shift in security policy and its path toward military expansion. This has also long been a political goal of the right-wing forces in Japan," said Xiang.

"From a political perspective, the Sanae Takaichi government views the move as a landmark step in shifting its security policy from defense to offense. It is intended both to boost approval ratings and to respond to demands from right-wing forces, laying the institutional foundation for constitutional revision and the emergence of Japan as a major military power. From a strategic perspective, the new bureau will consolidate resources to create a Japanese version of the CIA. On the one hand, this will reduce Japan's reliance on U.S. intelligence and elevate its standing within the U.S.-led alliance system. On the other hand, it will provide precise intelligence support for Japan's overseas military operations, helping Japan expand its global military influence and security presence," he said.

The expert said that while this move serves to monitor domestic society and conduct intelligence infiltration of other countries, it damages security and mutual trust in the region.

"This move by the Takaichi government also implies a dual intention: to strengthen social surveillance domestically and to enhance intelligence infiltration abroad. It exposes the danger of Japan breaking away from its postwar peace framework and pursuing remilitarization. Japan's move to intensify foreign intelligence and espionage activities will further erode security and mutual trust in the region. It is highly likely that the new body will target neighboring countries for close monitoring and intelligence infiltration, prompting these countries to strengthen their defenses and countermeasures in response," said Xiang.

Japan seeks to enhance intelligence capabilities to serve military expansion: expert

The Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by China has shifted the paradigm in thinking about global security away from the traditional zero-sum mentality toward a vision rooted in dialogue and development, said a Chinese expert on Tuesday.

In April 2022, China proposed the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which aims to create a new path to security that prioritizes dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance, and win-win over zero-sum thinking.

The initiative provides a new course and approach to addressing the root causes of international conflicts and solving security challenges facing humanity.

During an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Wang Xinsong, associate professor at the School of Government at Beijing Normal University, hailed the initiative's importance amid escalating global challenges.

"It's been four years and we have witnessed that the Global Security Initiative or GSI has transformed from a framework in principle to an action plan with many actions having taken place in mediating the conflicts. The major difference between the GSI and the traditional and the existing mainstream idea about global security is that the mainstream idea is being the zero-sum mentality where the belief is that one country's safety is possible only if its neighbors safety is not existent. The GSI shifts the paradigm in thinking about global security away from the zero-sum mentality by arguing that security at the end of the day is very much related to development," Wang said.

Over the past four years, China has consistently promoted the implementation of the GSI. By the end of 2025, the initiative has received support and appreciation from more than 130 countries and regions, as well as international organizations, and has been explicitly incorporated into more than 140 bilateral and multilateral documents at home and abroad.

China's Global Security Initiative shifts paradigm away from traditional zero-sum mentality: expert