This Dec. 8, 2015 file photo shows Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, center, at the time of the inauguration ceremony of the International Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Collection Unit. (Mainichi/Shinnosuke Kyan)

       The Mainichi Shimbun answers some common questions readers may have about the Japanese equivalent of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

       Question: Is there an intelligence agency in Japan similar to the CIA in the United States?

       Answer: In Japan, government ministries and agencies collect information. This is mainly done by the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office (CIRO) under the Cabinet Secretariat, but the National Police Agency (NPA), the Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Defense -- major intelligence agencies -- are also called "information community agencies."

       In 2008, the Financial Services Agency, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Japan Coast Guard came to be called "expanded information community agencies." Representatives from each ministry and agency gather to participate in information-sharing meetings.

       Q: Isn't it confusing to have so many organizations in charge?

       A: There is a system in which the CIRO is in charge of overall coordination, and analyzes information and reports the results to the prime minister and the Cabinet's policymaking department. The CIRO independently collects information on domestic and international situations.

       Q: What do the other ministries and agencies do?

       A: The Defense Intelligence Headquarters, which has the largest number of employees as a Japanese intelligence agency, is mainly responsible for collecting and analyzing information in the security field such as the international military situation. It also scrutinizes radio waves intercepted by the Defense Ministry. The Intelligence and Analysis Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs analyzes information from around the world. The NPA's Security Bureau investigates cases involving terrorists and spies, and the PSIA investigates organizations subject to the Subversive Activities Prevention Act.

       Q: Do they work together with intelligence agencies around the world?

       A: In 2013, there was a terrorist attack in Algeria where Japanese people were killed. The Japanese government established the International Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Collection Unit in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2015. The organization is effectively a unit under the direct control of the prime minister's office. It exchanges terrorism-related information with intelligence agencies overseas, and officials are dispatched to the site in the event of a terrorist attack.

       Recently, economic security to prevent the outflow of cutting-edge technology to foreign countries has also been played up, and each ministry and agency is taking measures with an eye on the international situation.

       (Japanese original by Takayuki Kanamori, Tokyo City News Department)

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