CIA activities in Japan

Part of a series on the
Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
History 1950s 1955 System Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 Hatomander U.S.-Japan Security Treaty 1960s Anpo protests Miike Struggle Income Doubling Plan Three Non-Nuclear Principles Sanrizuka Struggle 1968–1969 Japanese university protests 1970s Okinawa Reversion Agreement Japan–China Joint Communiqué Lockheed bribery scandals Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China Fukuda Doctrine 1980s Railway privatization Plaza Accord Recruit scandal Japanese asset price bubble 1990s Kono Statement Murayama Statement 1993 general election 1994 Japanese electoral reform Lost Decades 2000s 2001 Central Government Reform Honebuto no hōshin Postal service privatization 2009 general election 2010s Abenomics 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami State Secrecy Law Reinterpretation of Article 9 Moritomo Gakuen scandal 2020s Assassination of Shinzo Abe 2023–2024 Japanese slush fund scandal
Main ideology Conservatism Japanese nationalism
Related ideology Anti-communism Corporate statism Economic conservatism Economic interventionism Economic liberalism Elitism Ethnic nationalism Liberal conservatism Liberalism Classical liberalism Conservative liberalism Historical revisionism Monarchism Neoconservatism Neoliberalism National conservatism Paternalistic conservatism Progressive conservatism Right-wing populism Social conservatism Traditionalist conservatism Ultranationalism
Related organizations Association of Shinto Shrines Central Intelligence Agency Dentsu Japan Business Federation Japan Conference Japan lobby Japan Medical Association Junior Chamber International Japan Local support groups Pasona Unification Church
Media Sankei Shimbun
Related topics Factions in the Liberal Democratic Party Politics in Japan
Conservatism portal Japan portal
v t e

The activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Japan date back to the Allied occupation of Japan. Douglas MacArthur's Chief of Intelligence, Charles Willoughby, authorized the creation of a number of Japanese subordinate intelligence-gathering organizations known as kikan.^[1] Many of these kikan contained individuals purged because of their classification as war criminals.^[2] In addition, the CIA organized and financed a Japanese intelligence gathering program, Operation "Takematsu", utilizing the kikan as part of an intel gathering operation against North Korea, the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin.^[3] One of the kikan created, the "Hattori group", led by Takushiro Hattori, allegedly plotted to stage a coup d'etat and assassinate Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida on account of his opposition to Japanese nationalism.^[4]

Under the direction of the American Far East Command, Willoughby amassed an on-paper force of over 2,500 intelligence personnel.^[5] The CIA and military intelligence established numerous extrajudicial agencies including the "Canon Organ" which allegedly engaged in illegal abductions and torture of left-wing political activists, including novelist Kaji Wataru.^[6]

The CIA was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the formation of the present Japanese political system. The agency was financially involved in the creation of the Liberal Party by abetting the requisitioning of assets seized from China. The agency also participated in an influence campaign in order to sway the Liberals' successor, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), towards accepting Nobusuke Kishi as prime minister. The CIA was active in advising the LDP on policy in regards to military installations in Japan and security interests. This process of aiding the Liberal Democratic Party also involved the agency establishing what has come to be described as an "iron triangle"^[7] dealing in the trade of tungsten, for the purpose of covertly financing the LDP.^[8] In addition to supporting the LDP financially, multiple authors have alleged that the CIA actively subverted and interfered with the Japan Socialist Party and anti-American protests in Okinawa.^{[8][9][10][11][note 1]}

Prior to the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco, CIA operatives arrived in Japan as part of Project BLUEBIRD to test "behavioral techniques" on suspected double agents.^[12] US intelligence helped allegedly establish and administer several clandestine funds collectively known as the M-fund.^[13] The M-fund was allegedly used to enrich CIA contact Yoshio Kodama, who ostensibly used the fund to bankroll Yakuza protection for US President Dwight Eisenhower during his cancelled 1960 visit to Japan.^[14]

Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).