Japan: Sanae Takaichi to Chair Cybersecurity Ministerial Meeting on the Afternoon of October 26 in Response to Frequent Data Breaches
The Japanese government announced on October 26 that it would convene a ministerial meeting on cybersecurity at 6:00 p.m. that day, chaired by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, to coordinate the government's response to a recent spate of cyberattacks. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at his regular press conference on the morning of October 26 that multiple cyberattacks against Japanese companies and other institutions have caused large-scale data breaches, and that secondary damage using the leaked information has followed one after another, posing a serious threat to the safety and peace of mind of people's lives, making an urgent response unavoidable. Ministers attending the meeting include Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, and the meeting will coordinate response measures across ministries. In a recent typical incident, IT services provider GMO Internet Group said its foreign-exchange trading service had been accessed without authorization, with some customers reporting transactions in their accounts that they did not make; the company on October 24 asked the government for help eliminating the source of the malicious cyber activity. Kihara declined to comment on the specifics of that incident but said the government would provide support to the institutions under attack. In recent years, data attacks against companies, financial institutions and public services have become frequent in Japan, and how to quickly cut off attack sources after an incident, prevent leaked information from being misused and protect users' funds and personal information has become a shared challenge for government and business. The convening of this ministerial meeting shows that the Japanese government is seeking to improve overall cyber defense and emergency response capabilities through cross-ministry coordination.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 东京街景（资料图），取自 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Tokyo street scene (file photo), via Wikimedia Commons.
