Japan to Seek Steps on Foreign Threats in New Cybersecurity Strategy

Tokyo, Nov. 29 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government plans to adopt a new cybersecurity strategy next month that calls for necessary measures to address foreign threats such as election interference. A draft of the strategy noted “an increase in state-supported cyber threats” such as those by China, Russia and North Korea. It called for “defense and deterrence with the state at the core” following the enactment of a law to introduce active cyberdefense. The draft expressed caution over the fact that “cyberattacks, even those backed by states, are regularly carried out to halt critical infrastructure, interfere in other countries’ elections and steal sensitive information.” Citing the development of generative artificial intelligence technology, it voiced concerns about the growing threat of public opinion manipulation including the spread of misinformation by foreign countries, saying, “This may affect the foundation of a healthy democracy.” The draft called for the National Cybersecurity Office to play a central role in boosting the government’s ability to gather and analyze information on damage caused to businesses. While noting the constitutional right to secrecy of communications, it sought the creation of a system in which police, the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces will work together to neutralize attacks in cases that are important to national security. It stressed the need to “drastically enhance” the capabilities of the police, the Defense Ministry and the SDF. Under the new strategy, the government will create in fiscal 2026 a unified standard for cybersecurity measures at operators of critical infrastructure. It will also consider expanding the scope of critical infrastructure protection. Other measures include enhancing cooperation with allied and like-minded countries in sharing information and strengthening response capabilities. It will also emphasize the need to develop human resources that can deal with domestic cybersecurity issues. The Japanese government has drawn up a cybersecurity strategy roughly every three years since 2015. The new strategy will set out policy goals for the next five years for a longer-term perspective. The government has presented the draft strategy to political parties and accepted public comments. The draft will be submitted to an expert panel early next month before being sent to a government task force headed by the prime minister and approved by the cabinet. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]