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posted by takyon on Monday April 24 2017, @09:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the postwar-friends-with-benefits dept.

In April 1952, Japan’s sovereignty was restored, but the U.S. continued to maintain a major presence in the country — and that is where the NSA’s story begins.

According to the agency’s documents, its relationship with Japan dates back to the 1950s. NSA’s presence in the country was for many years managed out of a “cover office” in the Minato area of downtown Tokyo, within a U.S. military compound called the Hardy Barracks. From there, NSA maintained close relations with a Japanese surveillance agency that it refers to as Japan’s Directorate for Signals Intelligence, or SIGINT.

At first, the NSA appears to have kept a low profile in Japan, concealing details about its presence and operating undercover. But as its relationship with the country developed, that changed. By 2007, the agency had determined that “cover operations are no longer required” and it relocated its main office in Japan to a space within the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. “NSA’s partnership with Japan continues to grow in importance,” the agency noted in a classified October 2007 report, adding that it planned to take the country “to the next level as an intelligence partner with the U.S.”

There is no escape from the long arm of the NSA.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:50AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:50AM (#499229)

    ... but ... but... we *are* accountable. We have an ombudsman!