New spy agency, higher defence spending, lethal arms exports: Japan’s security reset explained

Japan has formally launched the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), this is a watershed moment in the island nation's post-World War-II security architecture. For, the last eight decades, Tokyo’s intelligence system was made up of different fragments, with the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office (CIRO) struggling to coordinate across different agencies reporting to different ministries. This disjointed framework earned Japan the reputation of being a “paradise for spies,” as foreign intelligence services exploited gaps in oversight, according to a CNN report. The NIB, will replace the CIRO. The new agency is designed to centralise collection, analysis and the move is expected to compelling different agencies to share information. The setting up of the new apparatus will help form a detailed and holistic intelligence picture that will help decision-makers.