The growing relevance of digital technologies for the economy as well as people’s daily lives, which includes areas such as cashless payment methods, digital health services, and remote work, has made cybercrimes an important topic in Japan. In 2020, cyberbullying became a major societal issue due to the suicide of Hana Kimura, a female professional wrestler who had also appeared on a reality television series. In 2021 and 2022, the police recorded an increase of ransomware attacks aimed at businesses. In 2023, a surge in online banking frauds was detected, with the
climbing to over 8.7 billion Japanese yen. As a
shows, common offenses include issues such as frauds, violations of the laws against child prostitution and child pornography, and the targeting of computers or electromagnetic records.
Growing problem awareness
Cybersecurity, in general, has become a prevalent issue in Japan, partly because of the economy’s dependence on the internet, electronic devices, and automation technology, and partly because of Japan’s geopolitical position and uneasy relations with its neighboring countries. As Japanese bureaucrats and politicians were comparatively slow in responding to these issues, the country has made efforts to catch up with regard to its cybersecurity strategy. The government’s vision of an increasingly interconnected “Society 5.0” and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics provided an important impetus to strengthen the infrastructure against external and internal threats. Among other measures, the government revised the Telecommunications Business Act in 2018, which enabled the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) to actively survey
Internet of Things (IoT) devices in its attempts to prevent DDoS attacks. In 2022, a new bureau dedicated to cybercrimes was established at the National Police Agency.
Information security measures
While the number of cleared cybercrime cases has increased in recent years, companies and individuals do not solely rely on state institutions when it comes to defending themselves against such crimes. According to one survey among companies in Japan, almost all businesses had
implemented information security measures to counter online threats. The survey also showed that installing anti-virus programs on computers and other devices was the
most common information security measure taken by companies. Due to the increasing reliance on the internet, tools and services promising to improve information security have become a necessity not only for businesses, but also for many consumers accessing the internet via personal devices. This is especially the case as the spread of smartphones during the 2010s has made mobile internet access much more convenient and common than before, increasing the need for effective mobile security. As the importance of connected devices is expected to grow further in the coming years, the
information security market will likely expand as well.
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