The Japanese Police Agency reveals the mediating tactics used by foreign forces and names China for infiltrating the political, financial, official and academic circles

On the 26th, the Japanese National Police Agency disclosed for the first time the specific methods used by foreign forces to engage in "influence work" (influence operations) in Japan, including approaching members of Congress through election support, using online media for political propaganda, and trying to provide monetary benefits to influence administrative decisions. It even involved the manipulation of public opinion by suspected overseas accounts during the House of Representatives election in February this year. The National Police Agency pointed out that such activities may affect voting behavior and policy decisions without the knowledge of the Japanese people, but Japan's current laws lack relevant regulations, which is a loophole that must be filled as soon as possible.

The Japanese government held an expert meeting on the 26th to discuss strengthening intelligence collection and analysis functions as a reference for the future formulation of laws and regulations related to espionage prevention. Information provided by the National Police Agency reveals for the first time a case of foreign forces engaging in infiltration activities in Japan.

In fact, the new version of the "Police White Paper" released by the National Police Agency in August this year listed "influence operations" by foreign forces to manipulate public opinion and elections through false information as an important issue that threatens Japan's democratic system and national security. It directly named China for actively contacting and lobbying Japanese political, financial, official and academic circles, carrying out various intelligence collection and infiltration activities, and using channels such as researchers, technicians and overseas students to approach companies with advanced technologies, defense-related companies and research institutions in an attempt to obtain technology and related intelligence.

However, the Asahi Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun reported that the case announced by the National Police Agency this time mainly comes from the police’s investigation data of past criminal cases, and the countries involved and the names of the parties were not disclosed.

One of the cases shows that people from a certain country, under the instructions of the country's political party cadres, established contacts by assisting Japanese parliamentarians and local councillors' election activities, and then asked the members to participate in friendly exchange activities held in Japan for the purpose of recruiting Japanese technical talents.

Another case involved local administration. In order to promote the local government of the home country to donate materials to a Japanese city, a person from a certain country tried to change the administrative decision by putting pressure on the city government through a familiar city councilor even though the city government had decided not to accept it.

In terms of information operations, the National Police Agency pointed out that a person from a certain country operates a portal for compatriots living in Japan, with more than 1 million registered members, and in accordance with the instructions of the country’s embassy in Japan, publishes promotional content that is beneficial to the home country.

In addition, a person from a certain country planned to establish a school in Japan to promote education in line with the intentions of his home country. However, after the school establishment application was rejected, he sought the assistance of a member of parliament's office on the condition of providing property benefits in an attempt to get the Japanese administrative agencies to change the decision.

The National Police Agency also listed suspicious online activities during the House of Representatives election in February this year, pointing out that about 3,000 social accounts acted in concert to publish and spread content critical of Japanese government policies. There were also suspicious accounts suspected to be from foreign countries that published information related to the House of Representatives election.

The National Police Agency stated that these activities may allow Japanese civil servants and ordinary people to be influenced by foreign forces without their knowledge, thereby influencing voting and policy decisions. Japan currently lacks a specialized legal system due to infiltration activities that do not involve theft of secrets but attempt to improperly influence political and administrative decisions. Officials from the National Police Agency bluntly stated that there are loopholes in the current law that must be filled as soon as possible.