My piece in the Handbook of Japanese Security
My new piece “Japan’s Cybersecurity Strategy and Policy” in the Handbook of Japanese Security is published! It presents an in-depth analysis of Japan’s cyber defense strategy, policy, geopolitical situation, and capability development. And it describes Tokyo’s gradual shift towards including potentially offensive operations in its military missions.
Handbook of Japanese Security, Editor Leszek Buszynski, ISBN: 9789048564217
https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789048564217/handbook-of-japanese-security
My chapter examined Japan’s cyber defense, its strategy, policy, geopolitical situation, and capability development. The Japanese government began its cyber capability in 2001 and in the National Defense Program Guidelines of 2018 declared that it would maintain the capability to disrupt adversaries. For two decades, its shift to an enhanced cyber defense capability continued with security policy reform and establishment of the cyber defense units.
While Tokyo has steadily made efforts to develop cybersecurity policy and a regulatory system, its initial focus was on protecting government agencies and critical infrastructure from cyber-attacks. Its policy and practices initially evolved in both the public and private sectors overseeing its critical infrastructure. As Japan’s geopolitical situation changed, its defense posture during the 2010s focused on the cyber domain. Tokyo gradually prioritized its cyber capability development for decades to come. The recent development of a “Multi-Domain Defense Force” was focused on cross-domain operations fusing capabilities in all domains, including cyberspace, outer space, and the electromagnetic spectrum. However, constitutional and operational challenges limit Japan’s capability in the cyber domain. Article 9 of the Constitution prohibits armed forces with war potential was well as cyber-attacks and some intelligence operations while the lack of resources is another challenge. Moreover, the budget allocation for the cyber domain is still limited.