Government intelligence job experience event receives overwhelming interest

Applications poured in from university students in Japan to participate in an event allowing them to experience government intelligence jobs.

The Public Security Intelligence Agency sought around 15 participants for the Sept. 20 event but received more than 200 applications. The number of applications was over 10 times the quota, up from around five times last year.

This year’s event drew “a greater response than ever before,” said an agency official in charge of recruitment.

The event’s popularity comes at a time when the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is seeking to boost the country’s intelligence capabilities.

The administration is aiming to reform Japan’s intelligence capabilities. In July, the government launched the National Intelligence Council and the National Intelligence Bureau.

Meanwhile, recent television dramas and movies have featured intelligence organizations.

“Public interest in intelligence organizations is growing,“ a senior official of the agency said.

During the intelligence job experience event, participating students worked on a human intelligence operation under the assumption they obtained information that a certain country was planning a cyberattack on infrastructure.

“I was able to imagine a specific intelligence job,” said a third-year university student who became interested in intelligence activities after watching the popular TV drama series “Vivant.”

“I applied (for the event) because I thought it’s cool to protect public safety,” said another third-year student. “It was difficult to clearly communicate only urgent information,” she added.

“Intelligence is essential for policy decisions,” said Masayuki Takeda, head of the agency’s personnel division. “It will become more important in the future.”

While the number of students aspiring to become government employees is on a long-term declining trend, Takeda encouraged those who “wish to protect the people through the power of information” to apply to work at the agency.

“Collecting information on the front lines is a challenging job,” Takeda stressed.