Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government yesterday approved legislation to set up a national security council, moving to strengthen his grip on foreign policy in the face of North Korean missile threats and a territorial dispute with China.
The hawkish Abe has pursued the move to centralise information-gathering and speed up decision-making.
We have...a structure that allows Japan to comprehensively monitor...security
“We have put in place a structure that allows Japan to comprehensively monitor the country’s security,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.
The bills will be submitted to this session of parliament, which ends on June 26, for possible enactment in an extraordinary Diet session in the autumn.
The need for a centralised national security body has been highlighted by North Korea’s recent sabre-rattling and a deadly January raid by jihadists on a natural gas plant in Algeria.
Japan struggled to obtain information on the Algeria hostage crisis, where 10 Japanese nationals were among three dozen foreign workers killed during a siege.