Japan Upper House Passes Intelligence Bill as Takaichi’s Support Holds

4 articles · Updated · The Japan Times · May 27

Japan’s Upper House approved a bill Wednesday to centralize and strengthen the country’s intelligence coordination apparatus, advancing the National Intelligence Council Law.
The debate exposed a broader political shift: opposition parties, which had seemed ready last month to weaponize the issue, failed to mount serious resistance.
Sanae Takaichi’s steady polling and parliamentary voting patterns pointed to durable support for her administration’s agenda and cracks among some of her main rivals.
The vote suggested the bill mattered not only for intelligence policy but also as a marker of Japan’s new political balance under Takaichi.

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