Japanese lower house approves bill to establish national intelligence committee, sparking protests

Japan's House of Representatives approved a bill to establish a national intelligence committee on Thursday, prompting widespread public questions and concerns. In March, the Japanese government approved a resolution to submit the relevant bill to the Diet, proposing a new intelligence mechanism centered on a national intelligence council with the national intelligence committee serving as its executive body.

According to the bill, the new committee will be tasked with coordinating "important intelligence activities" in areas such as national security and counter-terrorism, as well as "overseas intelligence activities" involving foreign espionage.

The bill also states that the committee's secretariat will "comprehensively coordinate" intelligence work across government ministries and agencies, with the authority to request that they share information.

The bill now moves to the upper house for review.

The bill and a series of reckless moves by the Takaichi administration have fueled deep public concern. Protesters gathered to voice their opposition to the legislation before its passage.

"Right now, the Takaichi administration is trying to drag Japan into war, through actions like promoting weapons imports and exports, provoking China, and failing to offer the apologies it should have made afterward. Against this backdrop, opposition voices are actually quite strong, but these remarks will be regulated. Once such a bill passes, not even opposing voices will be able to speak out. This is something I do not want to see," said a protester.

These grave concerns were widely echoed by other rally attendees, who said they cannot accept a string of radical moves by the Japanese government and the Takaichi administration, including the lifting of the ban on lethal weapons exports and the relentless push to amend Japan's pacifist constitution.

"Takaichi is forcing all of these moves through. Promoting this bill and lifting the ban on arms exports mean heading towards war," said another rally participant.

"I believe amending the Constitution is completely unacceptable. The Constitution is not something that members of the National Diet can revise on a whim, and it should never be revised in the first place," said another protester.

Japanese lower house approves bill to establish national intelligence committee, sparking protests

U.S. stocks closed mixed on Monday as a sharp sell-off in semiconductor equities dragged down the technology sector, while investors digested new U.S. economic sanctions announced against Iran and fresh trade tariff warnings targeting Canada.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 140.15 points, or 0.26 percent, to 53,417.16. The S and P 500 sank 21.51 points, or 0.28 percent, to 7,652.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 200.264 points, or 0.77 percent, to 25,980.19.

Eight of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in the green, with consumer staples and financials leading the gainers by going up 1.76 percent and 1.24 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, technology and energy led the laggards by losing 1.59 percent and 0.76 percent, respectively.

The tech sector's pullback stemmed from broad weakness across chipmakers. Memory and semiconductor shares came under heavy pressure following weekend reports that graphics processor leader Nvidia plans to implement price hikes across select AI server configurations. SanDisk, Western Digital, SK Hynix, Micron Technology and Seagate Technology all finished lower.

Geopolitical developments dominated macroeconomic headlines as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday threatened Iran with "an economic D-Day," announcing a wave of new sanctions aimed at further isolating the country.

On the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump escalated trade frictions with Canada, announcing intentions to raise tariffs on Canadian cars, automotive parts and steel to 50 percent effective Jan. 1, 2027. The announcement weighed on domestic automotive equities, pulling shares of General Motors and Ford lower.

In corporate earnings disclosures, U.S.-listed shares of Chinese e-commerce firm PDD and electric vehicle maker XPeng declined 1.48 percent and 8.53 percent, respectively, following their latest quarterly financial reports.

Market attention is now converging on two critical catalysts later this week: Nvidia's highly anticipated second-quarter earnings release on Wednesday, expected to serve as a vital referendum on the ongoing AI investment cycle, and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's scheduled address at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.

U.S. stocks close mixed as chip stocks sink