"The lesson for Japan is this: do not expect a global surveillance superpower to act with honor or respect," WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange said in a statement accompanying the release.
The NSA telephone interception target list included the Japanese Cabinet Office, the central bank as well as the finance and economy ministries, and the Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga’s executive secretary.
In the private sector, the US intelligence agency closely surveilled Mitsubishi’s natural gas division and the Mitsui conglomerate’s petroleum division.
NSA Intercepted Japan Agriculture Chief Communications Ahead of US Trade Talks
The NSA report detailed former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shigeru Ishiba’s talking points in anticipation of his meeting with the US Trade Representative on the sidelines of an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) event in Paris.
"Among the points that may be addressed with the USTR are US commitment to concluding the Doha Round negotiations by mid2010," the report stated.
The report added it expected the former Japanese minister to touch on subjects of tariffs on forestry and fishery products, the need for bilateral consultations on individual products and fisheries subsidies.
Japan is the latest NSA target uncovered by WikiLeaks, which recently published documents implicating the agency in eavesdropping French, Saudi and German high-ranking officials.
The intelligence gathered by the United States is shared with its "Five Eyes" alliance, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
