A wave of ransomware attacks has struck Japan across virtually every sector in recent weeks, prompting former digital minister Masaaki Taira to declare a "state of emergency in cyberspace." Attacks have paralyzed a public university, leaked over one million personal documents from a car-sharing service, and hit a Soft Bank-owned cloud provider affecting nearly 500 companies and local governments including a rail operator and police headquarters. Trend AI reported 600 attacks in the first nine months of 2026, already exceeding the 2025 total.
Experts say AI is lowering the barrier for attackers. Automated vulnerability scanning runs continuously, and AI-generated Japanese translations make phishing far more convincing — previously, language barriers limited such campaigns. Takahiro Anno, founder of an AI-focused political party, noted Japan was relatively insulated until about five years ago.
Despite being the world's fourth-largest economy, Japan's cybersecurity infrastructure remains underdeveloped. A Microsoft report ranked Japan second only to Taiwan for cyberthreats in Asia in 2026, while the International Institute for Strategic Studies placed Japan in the lowest tier for cyber capabilities in 2021. Analyst Ko Fujii of Makaira says the surge reflects unpatched systems offering high return on investment for criminals, not state-sponsored coordination.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing