＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
<Added August 22, 2020> Will Japan Join the “Five Eyes” Espionage Agreement? Defense Minister Kono Approaches It
Japan has exceptionally weak intelligence (information gathering and analysis) capabilities among major countries, and does not even have a specialized “intelligence agency (foreign intelligence agency).”
According to the August 14 edition of the Nikkei Online, Defense Minister Kono expressed his desire to cooperate with the “Five Eyes,” saying, “I wouldn’t mind Japan getting closer and being called one of the ‘Six Eyes.'”
The “Five Eyes” is a joint security intelligence gathering agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Given the recent ominous behavior of China, Russia, and North Korea, joining the agreement is a significant step forward. I believe this is of great significance.
Recently, there have been reports that China has been attempting to launch cyber attacks on various countries in an attempt to steal information regarding the “vaccine development” of the new coronavirus pneumonia, and that the FBI has launched an investigation.
In January 2020, Mitsubishi Electric and NEC were acknowledged as victims of “cyber attacks” targeting state institutions and private companies. These “cyber attacks” are still ongoing from China, North Korea, South Korea, and other countries, but recently we have also seen a lot of “espionage incidents” perpetrated by Russia.
1. Russian spies have begun targeting private companies as well
In January 2020, a SoftBank employee was arrested on suspicion of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Act for leaking confidential company information to a Russian spy (a senior employee of the Russian Trade Representation in Japan).
Police authorities have also requested the Russian Embassy to summon the spy posing as a diplomat to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, but no arrests have been made so far.
In the past, Russian spies often targeted members of the Self-Defense Forces, but recently they appear to be expanding their scope beyond that. In 2005, an employee of a major semiconductor company was referred to prosecutors on suspicion of “breach of trust” for allegedly receiving cash from a member of the Russian Trade Representation in Japan for providing “militarily applicable semiconductor data.”
This appears to have been an attempt by Russian President Putin, who is seeking to win the battle for hegemony with the United States and China and is also interested in Japan’s 5G and AI, to gain a foothold in Japan’s top telecommunications companies.
2. “Espionage Crimes” and the “Anti-Espionage Act”
Countries other than Japan generally have “espionage” or “anti-espionage” laws, with the latter carrying serious penalties such as the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Sasa Atsuyuki (1930-2018), the first Director-General of the Cabinet Security Council, worked in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Public Security Bureau and elsewhere to prevent espionage operations against Japan by North Korea, the Soviet Union, and China. He stated the following:
We have been doing our utmost to fight against spies from North Korea and other communist countries, working day and night to expose them. However, no matter how many spies from North Korea and other countries we have arrested and prosecuted, they have only received a one-year prison sentence, and after the trial is over, they have left the country with their heads held high. Why are the penalties so light? Because our country does not have an anti-espionage law, which is enacted in every other country. …If a proper anti-espionage law had been enacted at the time, perhaps such a tragic abduction incident as this one could have been prevented. This is because laws with penalties act as a deterrent. (Shōkun, December 2002 issue)
Sasa said, “In other countries, espionage, a serious crime punishable by death, is effectively left unchecked under special laws with lighter penalties, such as the Immigration Control Act, Foreign Exchange Control Act, Passport Act, Alien Registration Act, theft, and trespassing. These laws are essentially left unchecked.”
The maximum penalties for espionage in each country are as follows:
– United States (Article 794 of the Federal Code): death penalty
– United Kingdom (Article 1 of the Official Secrets Act): imprisonment
– France (Articles 72 and 73 of the Penal Code): life imprisonment
– Sweden (Article 6 of the Penal Code): life imprisonment
– Russia (Article 64 of the Penal Code): death penalty
– China (Ordinance for Punishment of Counter-Revolution): death penalty
– North Korea (Article 65 of the Penal Code): death penalty
3. The Need for an “Intelligence Agency”
It’s common practice in countries around the world to establish intelligence agencies like the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), and SIS (Secret Intelligence Service) to crack down on cyberattacks. Russia has the KGB and GRU, Germany has the BND, MAD, and BfV, and France has the DST, DSPD, and DGSE. However, Japan lacks any such laws or intelligence agencies.
Though it may be a little late, I believe Japan should immediately consider establishing an intelligence agency and enacting an anti-espionage law. The ruling and opposition parties should cooperate, considering the national interest.
At the same time, I believe we need a specialized department and personnel to deal with cyberattacks. Instead of a weak, incompetent, and under-informed person like (former) Minister of Cybersecurity Strategy Yoshitaka Sakurada, we need to create a robust system under a truly specialized, dedicated minister.