In intelligence and security circles, foreign plots and interference are routine.
This reality exposes the dangers of Japan’s lack of vigilance.
Public opinion data suggests the opposition alliance is out of step with national sentiment.

2016-03-27
The following is a continuation of the previous section.
In his latest book, The Spies Who Passed Through My Life, Junko Sassa vividly recounts a wide range of experiences, from the “friendship” between his father, the political scientist Hiroo Sassa, and Hotsumi Ozaki, an Asahi Shimbun reporter executed as a Soviet spy, to the counterintelligence training he received in the United States.
Foreign intrigue as a routine occurrence.
The book is packed with episodes, including how he lectured Foreign Ministry trainees by warning them, “Even if a beautiful woman approaches you, do not get carried away,” cautioning them against honey traps, as well as stories surrounding Soviet spy cases in which relatives of current Communist Party executives turned themselves in.
At the same time, one comes to realize that for security authorities, foreign plots, covert operations, and interference are anything but rare, and the complacency of Japanese society toward such threats becomes deeply unsettling.
In any case, regardless of the Japanese Communist Party’s intentions or true motives, an opposition alliance centered on abolishing the security-related legislation strikes me as fundamentally misguided.
According to a joint public opinion survey conducted by the Sankei Shimbun and FNN (Fuji News Network), the proportion of people who consider the security legislation “necessary” has continued to rise since its enactment, reaching 57.4 percent in the most recent survey conducted on the 19th and 20th.
A survey by Kyodo News last month likewise showed that those who believe the legislation “should not be abolished” (47.0 percent) clearly outnumber those who think it “should be abolished” (38.1 percent).
Democratic Party leader Katsuya Okada has repeatedly criticized the government for “not listening to the voices of the people” opposing the legislation, but he is lagging behind and failing to keep up with public sentiment.
On this issue, has the contest not already been decided?
(Editorial Writer and Political Desk Editor)