# Japan's New CIA Could Be Takaichi's Trump Card

> After 80 years without a foreign spy agency, Japan is building its own CIA to strengthen ties with Washington and counter China, North Korea, and Russia.
- Title: Japan's New CIA Could Be Takaichi's Trump Card | Shortify
- Summary: After 80 years without a foreign spy agency, Japan is building its own CIA to strengthen ties with Washington and counter China, North Korea, and Russia…
- Keywords: japan, intelligence reform, sanae takaichi, donald trump, cia, foreign intelligence, humint operations, us-japan alliance, five eyes, china, north korea, russia
- Source: Foreign Policy — https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/22/japan-intelligence-agency-secret-service-takaichi-trump-security-military-alliance
- Author: Derek Grossman
- Published: 2026-09-24T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 3 min
- Topics: japan, intelligence reform, sanae takaichi, donald trump, cia, foreign intelligence, humint operations, us-japan alliance, five eyes, china, north korea, russia
## Japan plans its first CIA
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is overhauling Japan's intelligence capabilities since 1945, aiming to create a dedicated foreign spy agency by 2028 to conduct clandestine operations overseas.
## Why Japan needs human spies
Japan has sophisticated satellite and signals intelligence but lacks human sources on the ground. Satellites can't reveal what foreign regimes are secretly planning or where abducted citizens are held.
## Legacy of wartime abuses
Since World War II, Japan has lacked a dedicated foreign intelligence service partly due to the legacy of intelligence abuses during the imperial era, making this shift historically significant.
## North Korea shows the gap
Japan's satellites detected North Korea's 1998 missile launch, but couldn't reveal that Pyongyang was abducting Japanese citizens until Kim Jong Il admitted it in 2002. Human intelligence could have uncovered this sooner.
## Cold War listening prowess
In 1983, Japan's Wakkanai listening station intercepted Soviet fighter communications during the Korean Air Lines Flight 007 shootdown, proving Japan's technical intelligence capabilities.
## Parliament passes landmark law
In May, Japan's parliament authorized two new intelligence organizations: the National Intelligence Council to coordinate policy and the National Intelligence Bureau to manage collection and analysis, already operational with 700 personnel.
## Kazuya Hara leads new bureau
Kazuya Hara, the first director of the National Intelligence Bureau, previously led cabinet intelligence and served as a National Police Agency security official, bringing decades of experience.
## Signaling to Trump
Takaichi is using intelligence reform to show Trump that Japan is taking burden-sharing seriously within the U.S.-Japan security alliance, alongside increased military spending and loosened arms export restrictions.
## Arms exports now allowed
In April, Takaichi's government significantly loosened Japan's long-standing restrictions on arms exports, opening the door to overseas sales of lethal weapons and greater defense-industrial cooperation.
## Revising national security
Tokyo is revising its three core national security documents to determine how Japan can shoulder a greater share of regional security burden, signaling a major strategic shift.
## Five Eyes integration goal
A Japanese CIA could help Tokyo join the Five Eyes intelligence network of the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, and New Zealand by developing human intelligence capabilities and strengthening counterintelligence protections.
## Australia's model as template
Australia's new ambassador to Japan, Andrew Shearer, a former intelligence director, is consulting on Japan's reforms, suggesting Japan may adopt Australia's model of separating coordination from clandestine operations.
## Building takes years
Creating a Japanese CIA on paper is easier than building one that works overseas. Japan must recruit case officers, develop cover, cultivate foreign agents, and resolve legal questions about what spies can do abroad.
## Legal questions remain
Tokyo still must resolve what intelligence officers can do abroad, including whether they can pay agents, use false identities, or operate under nonofficial cover, and what oversight mechanisms will apply.
## Takaichi's strong case
When Takaichi meets Trump, she can argue Japan is answering his call for allies to do more. Intelligence reform represents a consequential way Tokyo is assuming greater responsibility for its own security.
## Key takeaway

Japan is overhauling its intelligence apparatus to create a dedicated foreign spy agency by 2028, signaling to Trump that Tokyo is taking on greater security responsibilities.