Government begins considering “foreign agent system”, first installment of anti-espionage law

On the 26th, the government held the second meeting of a panel of experts to consider measures to strengthen intelligence (information gathering and analysis) capabilities at the prime minister's office. As the first step in legislation related to preventing espionage, consideration has begun on a "foreign agent registration system." The government is planning to compile recommendations regarding the registration system before formulating a national information strategy by the end of this year. The government aims to submit related bills to next year's regular Diet session.

The Foreign Agent Registration System aims to make their activities more transparent by requiring individuals and organizations conducting lobbying activities in Japan to submit notifications based on instructions or contracts from foreign governments. The government explained the concept of the system. A National Police Agency official mentioned the need to impose penalties for malicious acts, and emphasized that ``Optimizations to influence political and administrative processes have become active in recent years, and urgent legislation is needed.'' This is the first time that the government has presented a concrete picture of its anti-espionage legislation.

When introducing this system, the focus will be on the scope of registration obligations and the nature of penalties. At the meeting, the government presented examples of similar legal systems in the United States, Britain, France, and other countries as reference. Experts said, ``The fact that there is no legal system to deal with influence operations should itself be seen as a risk,'' while others argued for caution in imposing criminal penalties.