O letter August 14, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender just days after U.S. Air Force planes dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, killing more than 100,000 people. The war was over, but as part of the peace agreement, Japan agreed to U.S. military occupation. American forces – led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur – drafted a new Japanese constitution and reformed the country’s parliamentary system. 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.

NSA’s presence in the united kingdom is for many years treated out away from a great “shelter place of work” on the Minato area of downtown Tokyo, inside a good U.S. armed forces substance known as Hardy Barracks. From there, NSA was able intimate relations which have a great Japanese surveillance service which refers to given that Japan’s Directorate to own Signals Intelligence, or SIGINT.

To start with, the fresh NSA seems to have left a low profile inside Japan, hiding facts about its visibility and operating undercover. Because of the 2007, the fresh agency had figured “shelter surgery are no prolonged requisite” and it relocated its fundamental place of work within the Japan to help you a space in the U.S. Embassy in the Tokyo. “NSA’s relationship that have The japanese continues to grow when you look at the pros,” new company listed within the a classified report, adding it wanted to use the country “to a higher level once the an intellect mate into the U.S.”

In the exactly what it calls its “Misawa Protection Operations Cardiovascular system,” the latest agencies works a mission underneath the code name LADYLOVE

Beyond Tokyo, NSA features an exposure today on various other facilities in The japanese. One of them is at a big U.S. airbase from inside the Misawa, in the eight hundred miles north out-of Tokyo. Playing with on twelve strong antennas contains within this large golf ball-including light domes, they vacuums up communications – and additionally phone calls, faxes, and you can web sites studies – which can be sent round the satellites on the Asia-Pacific area.

Military Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, previous director of your own National Security Agencies, evaluations their cards when you find yourself testifying toward Capitol Hill when you look at the Arizona on the .

By , Misawa was being regularly monitor “over 8,100000 signals with the 16 directed satellites,” one NSA document listed. At the same time, the latest department was doing beefing-up this new spy hub’s systems, as a result it you can expect to satisfy a problem put by then-Director Keith Alexander to “collect it all” – definition, so you can sweep up as many communications as possible. Misawa’s NSA teams responded to Alexander’s name from the development technology to help you automatically always check and you will techniques so much more satellite indicators. “You will find great number of options,” that Misawa-depending NSA professional stated, anticipating your legs would in the near future become “one-step closer to ‘collecting almost everything.’”

But as its reference to the nation establish, one to changed

Smartly, The japanese is amongst the NSA’s most effective people. For the personal distance to biggest You.S. rivals such Asia and you may Russia, it has been put as the a starting mat to help you spy on the those people nations. However, NSA’s businesses when you look at the Japan are not limited by keeping track of the newest correspondence out-of nearby opponents. On Misawa, the latest NSA implemented software titled APPARITION and you will GHOSTHUNTER, and that identify the brand new metropolises of individuals accessing the online over the Middle eastern countries and you can Northern Africa. NSA data outlining GHOSTHUNTER’s implementation from the NSA’s British base Menwith Mountain county the program was utilized in order to helps fatal influences, enabling “a significant number away from grab-kill operations” against so-called terrorists. You to definitely file detailed that Misawa had proved such as for example useful in tracking off scary suspects inside Afghanistan and you will Pakistan, and you will has also been being used as a way to select goals inside Indonesia.