The Abe administration is seeking to pass legislation in the current extraordinary Diet session to establish Japan's own version of the U.S. National Security Council in January, while Britain has been making moves to increase cooperation with Japan in the national security field.

The British government led by Prime Minister David Cameron is increasingly concerned about China's "expansionary stance in military and economic matters," a Japanese expert said.

London's decision to develop closer ties with Japan comes as the U.S. position in Asia diminishes, and reflects Britain's desire to maintain influence in the region.

A British government source said Oct. 22 that establishing the hotline would allow for regular discussions between the heads of the two secretariats.

The source explained that once Japan sets up its own national security council, it would be able to share information and analyses whenever a crisis developed--such as the hostage-taking incident in Algeria at the beginning of this year--and that the two nations would be able to work more closely.

According to government sources in both countries, Britain invited Japanese government officials to Britain in September because it wanted to deepen relations, not only in the economic realm, but also in national security.

A British government source said the objective of the meeting last month was to share the British experience by providing information to Japan about its National Security Council organization and how it is staffed.

Officials of the two nations also exchanged views on the crisis in Syria, as well as on how to handle emergency situations, such as the Fukushima nuclear accident.

British officials said a major advantage of further cooperation between the two nations lies in the fact that both have parliamentary systems and similar decision-making processes.

Britain established its National Security Council in 2010 to deal with issues such as global warming and cyber-attacks. It said at the time that there were too many pressing issues of global concern to be handled by a specific ministry.

Other countries in the British Commonwealth of Nations, such as Canada and Australia, have also established agencies in recent years that have similar functions to a national security council.

In the future, there will likely be more active meetings involving the foreign and defense ministers and their counterparts in such nations.

A British government source also welcomed the information protection agreement reached in July between Japan and Britain that was designed to encourage the sharing of information related to defense equipment and terrorism because any intelligence provided by Britain would have to be protected.

British officials also support moves by the Abe administration to pass legislation in the current Diet session for the protection of state secrets.

After the leak of U.S. intelligence by former CIA employee Edward Snowden, debate has arisen in Britain over whether charges should be sought against the columnist at the Guardian newspaper who broke the story.

Japan, meantime, is gearing up for the planned January start of its national security council. Officials from relevant ministries have been dispatched to the office in the Cabinet Secretariat which is in charge of setting it up.

Information obtained from Britain will be used as a reference point in creating the council's organization as well as the rules for operating the new agency.

**This article was written by Takashi Watanabe and Yoshihiro Makino