Japan has launched its National Intelligence Bureau, creating the country's first centralized intelligence command since WWII. The government says it is essential to address today's increasingly complex security challenges.

Critics see a different story. They warn the bureau could centralize intelligence power under the prime minister, weaken democratic oversight, and revive concerns rooted in Japan's wartime past.

CGTN reporter Cao Bing examines the history, the controversy, and the implications behind Japan's biggest intelligence reform since World War II.