Re: Exporting crypto from Japan

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 4:43 PM -0700 11/16/97, Joichi Ito wrote:

>who also have domestic political strength. Also, I looked into the "Chobetsu"
>that you refered to in a previous message and I think you are refering to the
>"Naikaku Chosashitsu Betsushitsu" which is the group that engages in the often
>rather shady "super-legal" actions like stamping out political parties and
>going after cults. I don't think they have any direct involvement in the
>current

My first knowledge of Chobetsu came from noted intelligence expert Jeffery
Richelson's book on intelligence agencies. Also, as I noted some months
back, various Web sources cite it. As to the spelling, I'm using
Richelson's. He cites Chobetsu's role in various NSA-like activities.

(And I recall Seymour Hersh, in "Shootdown," describing some of the SIGINT
and COMINT functions of this and other agencies.)

My strong suspicion is that Japanese journalists and source are NOT the
best place to learn about Japanese SIGINT and COMINT capabilities. Not hard
to see some reasons for this.


>RSA issue and I wouldn't call them "Japan's NSA." They are more like some
>kind of secret police. (I can already image the kind of messages I'm going to
>receive on this list for engaging with you at this level of dialog, but for
>the
>benefit of some of the lurkers, I think it's worth it...) My point is, you
>are probably
>right that there is some activity by groups like the NSA putting pressure on
>exposed parts of Japanese government to stifle export of crypto. But... the
>current Japanese government is not as organized as you might think and
>there are many different groups with different opinions. I don't think it is

Aside from these issues of whether they're as organized as you think I
think they are, all that matters is how quickly they yanked the RSA chip
after Bidzos held it up before Congress.



>is interested in looking into the detail. I personally think that the
>impact of
>Japan's actions is great enough so that it might be worth engaging rather
>than just writing us off.

Oh, OK. I'll "engage" and not just write Japan off.

Please notify me, and us, of the forums where these engagements are
occurring. For starters, how about some e-mail addresses of cabinet
ministers and other officials.


>P.S. I can already see this message going down in a flurry a flames.
>Although I'm getting used to ignoring irrelevant messages and taking
>cheap shots at Tim when I have the chance, I'm still not sure if the risk
>of engaging in dialog "out in the open" is worth the net reputation
>capital earned after all of the mud is slung. Also, I'm not sure whether
>giving away all of my tactics just to win an arguement is worth it.
>Maybe it is better to save those rounds for the real fight. My point is,
>if people on this list are really going to do anything about crypto
>I'll continue to weather the attacks and engage in dialog with you.
>If the point of this list is to just beat each other up and talk about how
>bad it all is, then I'm going to give up.

This discussion is hardly going down in flames. You're apparently too
sensitive to engage in robust debate.

Frankly, I've seen no mentions in the American press, let alone the
Japanese press, about how Japan caved in to U.S. pressures. (There may have
been some minor mentions in the U.S. press, but they had little impact.)

So, Joichi, why don't you stir the shit on this one? And I don't mean with
"constructive engagement." That's a synonym for inaction.

Point out to your Japanese readers the nefarious role the NSA is playing,
the role of the U.S. spy facilities in Misakawa Air Force Base, where the
NSA and its military liason offices, intercept the communications of
Toshiba, Fujitsu, Hitachi, NEC, and so on and feed them, selectively, to
U.S. COMINT consumers. (Why Japan and Germany allow U.S. SIGINT facilities
in their own territory is a mystery to me...must be some nice payoffs to
senior officials.)

Declare war on the NSA. You've several times trumpetted the Japanese
Constitution as supporting basic rights even more than the Amerikan
Constitution does, so this is your chance to say "Fuck the National
Security State."

Get the RSA chip released widely and quickly. The drug trade in Asia could
use it right now.

(No, this is not a joke. I favor full availability of any and all drugs to
anyone who wants them. This makes the Triads and Yakuza allies in defeating
the New World Order. The ComSec 3DES phones are a step in defeating the
DEA, Interpol, and other police state agencies, but the RSA chip would make
a lot of such things much more interesting.)

--Tim May



The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^2,976,221   | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."