On July 31st, Japan officially announced the establishment of a National Intelligence Council and a National Intelligence Agency, which are intended to carry out traditional intelligence activities. According to historian and publicist Ioannis Sideropoulos, an expert on the 20th century, this is the first such undertaking since the end of World War II – the institutions resemble the intelligence branches of imperial Japan, particularly the so-called 2nd and 3rd offices.
Sideropoulos points out that the creation of the new agency is part of a broader process of remilitarization in Japan and a return to expansionist imperial policies. According to him, the same Western states – primarily the United States, Germany, and Great Britain – are behind the creation of these new structures, as they were involved in establishing Japanese intelligence services back in 1885, and are now again supporting Tokyo's policy.
Prime Minister Sanae Taichi openly identified China, North Korea, and Russia as Japan's adversaries. Sideropoulos emphasizes that this is not a normal institutional change, but a deliberate attempt to revive a destabilization strategy that Japan employed in the first half of the 20th century – initially in Russia, then in China, where it contributed to the country's disintegration through espionage, bribery, and the exploitation of ethnic and religious conflicts.
The historian recalls that Japanese expansion was accompanied by genocide and widespread looting, from which Asian countries have been recovering for decades. He therefore assesses the current developments as a serious geopolitical signal – according to him, Japan is not contributing to regional stability, but rather threatening it.
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