Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office

Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office
内閣情報調査室
Naikaku Jōhō Chōsashitsu
Agency overview
Jurisdiction Government of Japan
Headquarters Nagatacho, Tokyo, Japan
Employees 170–175
Agency executive
Parent agency Cabinet Secretariat
Website www.cas.go.jp/jp/gaiyou/jimu/jyouhoutyousa.html (in Japanese)

The Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office (内閣情報調査室, Naikaku Jōhō Chōsashitsu),[1] Naichō (内調), is an intelligence agency of Japan, an agency of the Cabinet Secretariat, which reports directly to the Prime Minister.

The agency is said to be an equal to the American Central Intelligence Agency.[2] However, it is often criticized as being rather ineffectual, spending most of its energy translating foreign publications rather than gathering any substantial intelligence,[3] while being accused of spying on Japanese nationals on domestic soil.[3]

History

Spy scandal

On January 17, 2008, an official of Naichō was charged for spying for Russians, passing them classified information. The Russians denied the claim.[4] Since then, there had been calls for greater accountability on Naichō.[5]

Organization

Naichō headquarters occupies 6th floor of the Cabinet Office Building

According to its official web site, organization of Naichō is as follows:[6]

  • Director of Cabinet Intelligence (内閣情報官)
  • Deputy Director of Cabinet Intelligence (次長)
  • Divisions
    • General Affairs Division (総務部門)
    • Domestic Division (国内部門)
    • International Division (国際部門)
    • Economy Division (経済部門)
    • Cabinet Information Integration Center (内閣情報集約センター)
  • Cabinet Intelligence Analysts (内閣情報分析官)
  • Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center (内閣衛星情報センター)
  • Counterintelligence Center (カウンターインテリジェンスセンター)

The CIRO is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, in a building called "H20".[7]

Known heads of Naichō

  • Yoshio Omori[8]
  • Kazuhiro Sugita (Jan. 2001–Apr. 2001)[9]
  • Toshinori Kanemoto (Apr. 2001–Apr. 2006)[10]
  • Hideshi Mitani (Apr. 2006–Apr. 2010)[11]
  • Shinichi Uematsu (Apr. 2010–Dec. 2011)[12]
  • Shigeru Kitamura (Dec. 2011– )[13][7]

Satellite surveillance

The Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center (CSICE) is a subdivision of the agency operating a network of surveillance satellites, such as the IGS-Optical and IGS-Radar series. As of June 2018, Japan has six functioning observation satellites in orbit.[14]

References and notes

  1. ↑ "Names of Government Organizations and Positions" (PDF). Cabinet Secretariat. Retrieved 2013-12-20.
  2. ↑ Andrew Oros. "Japan's Growing Intelligence Capabilities" (PDF). International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-20. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  3. 1 2 "Cabinet Research Office". Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  4. ↑ "A Japanese Faces Spy Charges". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on January 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  5. ↑ "Japan's Cabinet urges tighter controls amid Russian spy scandal". Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  6. ↑ "内閣情報調査室". Cabinet Secretariat. Retrieved 2015-02-23.
  7. 1 2 Gallagher, Ryan (May 19, 2018). "The Untold Story of Japan's Secret Spy Agency". Archived from the original on May 21, 2018.
  8. ↑ Hiroko Nakata (2007-01-11). "Creating new security system fraught with obstacles". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  9. ↑ 内閣危機管理監 (in Japanese). Cabinet Secretariat. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  10. ↑ 内閣情報官 (in Japanese). Cabinet Secretariat. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  11. ↑ 内閣情報官 (in Japanese). Cabinet Secretariat. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  12. ↑ 内閣情報官 (in Japanese). Cabinet Secretariat. Archived from the original on 2011-03-22. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  13. ↑ Top Intelligence Post Vacant. Japan Security Watch. Archived from the original on 2016-11-12. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
  14. ↑ "Japan launches intelligence-gathering satellite". NHK. June 12, 2018. Japan now has 8 intelligence-gathering satellites in orbit. Six are in operation. An optical-type satellite launched in February is currently being prepared to go into operation.
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