Minoru Kihara: “The establishment of this council marks the first step in intelligence reform.”

It is regrettable that the measure imposes tariffs on the grounds of non-existence of measures banning imports of goods made by forced labor, even though Japan's industry and trade are in line with international rules.

We recognise that in a rapidly changing security environment there is a growing need to counter foreign intelligence activities — such as the acquisition of critical information — that threaten Japan's national security.

Japan’s efforts so far have been recognized.