Japan’s internet landscape, digital infrastructure, and approach to internet governance are formed through a multistakeholder approach drawn from both private and public sector collaboration. Arising from this cooperation among government agencies, universities, and national research institutes, Japan now stands as a country with a 94% internet penetration rate (DataReportal, 2021). From hosting the largest and most diverse iteration of the Internet Governance Forum in 2023 to presiding over the 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit, Japan not only participates in shaping global digital governance but leads as an innovator in AI systems, an international collaborator on digital policy, and as an advocate for equitable connectivity. Japan has become a nation that takes the forefront of cybersecurity innovation and cooperation on the world stage.
From automation and artificial intelligence to connectivity and a vast digital landscape, Japan’s rapidly modernized technology is evident in almost every industrial aspect. Japan’s broadband and internet industries continue to facilitate new cutting-edge technology in different economic sectors. The greater Japanese population faces no shortage of this technological landscape—high-tech modernization is particularly evident in the daily lives of Japanese civilians (Murray, 2019). According to DataReportal in The Unique Nuances of Digital in Japan, 93% of Japan’s population today uses the internet, actively involving themselves in the nation’s well-established digital economy (DataReportal, 2021). As a result, Japan experiences some of the highest levels of connectivity in the world (Kemp, 2022).
Nevertheless, with a strong telecommunication infrastructure comes the respective security and privacy issues. Some of the major cybersecurity issues that Japan faces stem from cyber espionage and ransomware attacks. In August of 2023, Chinese spies from the People’s Liberation Army breached Tokyo’s defense networks—a startling attack that exposed Japan’s lack of cyber defense adeptness. According to the Washington Post in 2023, this attack was “one of the most damaging hacks in [Japan’s] modern history” (Nakashima 2023). Cyber threats from China are not the only foreign risks that compromise Japan’s cybersecurity fortifications—ransomware attacks alarmingly rose 58% in 2022 (Hyuga 2023). While Japan has taken on a more offensive approach to deter cyber threats, such incidents have exposed Japan’s slow incident response times and a lack of transparency and accountability from victim companies (Hyuga 2023). Nevertheless, Japan has recently taken escalated approaches to address its cyber defense vulnerabilities through institutionalizing operational defense build-ups, prevention, and neutralization.
The Telecommunications Business Law, amended in June of 2022, is the main provision governing the Japanese telecommunications industry. In light of dangerous data breaches, communication failures, and a lack of business transparency surrounding ransomware attacks, the new amendments to the TBL targeted the protection of user information and the improvement of transparency around handling personal data (Hibi 2021). From a regional perspective, Japan evaluates data governance through “agile governance.” With this approach, the Japanese government continuously reevaluates and updates digital legislation by considering existing policies and adjusting regulatory systems as needed (Habuka, 2023). On a global scale, Japan has legislatively supported the leveraging of digital benefits while mitigating the cybersecurity risks associated with it by increasing digital literacy (UN News, 2023). On Japan’s role as the governmental host of the 2023 Internet Governance Forum, Hiroki Habuka from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in 2023 notes, “Japan’s approach to AI regulation may have considerable influence on consensus-building among global leaders” (Habuka, 2023). The nation has adopted a clear multi stakeholder position in closing the digital governance gap and reinforcing digital cooperation on the international level (Koshino, 2019).
Recent developments in Japan’s cybersecurity posture have accelerated a more active defense approach as the frequency of cyber attacks continues to threaten the country’s critical infrastructure. On February 7, 2025, the Japanese government passed the Active Cyber Defense Bill, a legislation that set the country on a path towards bolstering cyber-response capabilities and established oversight committees to strengthen public-private cooperation in cyber preparedness. (Breaker-Rolfe 2025) Notably, however, this bill was not only a signifying commitment to enhance cyber preparedness standards, one that can match that of the US’s, but it was a legislative response to Chinese state-backed espionage campaigns from threat actor MirrorFace. As an advanced persistent threat group (APT), MirrorFace’s is believed to operate as a People’s Liberation Army cyber-warfare unit whose espionage efforts in Japan were first traced back to 2019 (Nelson 2025). Since its cyber presence in Japan was first discovered, the group’s actions have ranged from large-scale phishing campaigns launched on Japanese think tanks, governments, and politicians to targeting zero-day vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure such as “healthcare, manufacturing, information and communications, education, and aerospace …” (Bracken 2025). Persistent malicious attacks from MirrorFace have prompted Japanese government officials to not only recognize the need for a more robust, active defense posture, but declare it as policy. Japan’s continued overhaul of cyber defense readiness shifts the country to a more proactive stance, one that can improve its capabilities equal in strength and sophistication.
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