| Public Security Intelligence Agency | |
|---|---|
| 公安調査庁 | |
| Kōanchōsa-chō | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | July 21, 1952 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Japan |
| Headquarters | Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan |
| Employees | +/- 1,500 officers[1] |
| Annual budget | 15,099,256,683 Yen (As of 2006) |
| Minister responsible | Hideo Hiraoka, Japanese Minister of Justice |
| Agency executive | Mikinao Kitada, Director-General |
| Parent agency | Japanese Ministry of Justice |
| Website | |
| Official Site (Japanese) | |
The Public Security Intelligence Agency (公安調査庁 kōanchōsa-chō) is the national intelligence agency of Japan. It is administered by the Ministry of Justice in the government of Japan, and is tasked with internal security and espionage against threats to Japanese national security based on the Subversive Activities Prevention Act[2][3].
As the national agency with the role to collect intelligence information, the PSIA contributes to Japanese government policy by providing relevant organizations with necessary foreign and domestic data (collected through investigations and intelligence activities) on subversive organizations.[2] It's also known that the PSIA is responsible for conducting surveillance and intelligence-related work on Zainichi Koreans on Japanese soil[2]. It conducts its operations on domestic soil[4].
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The Public Security Intelligence Agency was established with the enforcement of the Subversive Activities Prevention Law on July 21, 1952[3].
Initially focusing on threats from pro-left wing groups such as the Japanese Red Army during the days of the Cold War, it began to conduct intelligence work on the Aum Shinrikyo after the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995[2] with criticism that the PSIA did not monitor the group, especially with their attempt to acquire and stockpile biological weapons on Japanese soil[4]. . The PSIA had cooperated with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Public Security Bureau in investigating Aum Shinrikyo for a number of years. When asked about their investigation on the cult, a PSIA report had said "There has been no change in its dangerous nature. Strict surveillance is essential."[5]
The PSIA had investigated Aum Shinrikyo when it was revealed that the group had established software firms that could pose security risks to Japan[6].
Chongryon has been under PSIA surveillance for a long time, suspecting it of supposedly performing espionage activities in Japanese soil[7]. The Japanese Ministry of Justice has sought ¥270 million to fund the PSIA on conducting intelligence against North Korean espionage activities[8].
The PSIA had been supposed to be integrated with Naicho in order to reorient the agency to a post-Cold War and to enhance Naicho's resources, but the proposal was not adopted[4].
The PSIA is formed with the current organization:[12]
The PSIA has ties to several foreign intelligence as security agencies, including the CIA, FBI, Mossad and MI6, with several PSIA agents being invited to train with the CIA under its Intelligence Analysis Course[13].
There had been some suggestion that Chongryon's head office in Chiyoda had been sold to Shigetake Ogata, an ex-director-general of the PSIA under the agency's influence. A PSIA press statement cleared this allegation when it said that it denied being involved in the deal between Chongryon and Ogata[14].
Ogata had been arrested for alleged fraud, which he had denied[15]. Ogata had been later charged with fraud after he admitted that he did so[16].