Japan Press Weekly

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2025 December 24 - 2026 January 6 [POLITICS]

Gov’t strategy will allow for constant surveillance of general public under name of active cyber defense

The government at its Cabinet meeting on December 23 decided on a new cyber security strategy for the next five years.

The new strategy regards active cyber defense (ACD) as a means to deter cyber threats. ACD was introduced in three key national security-related documents which were revised in 2022. In line with this, an ACD-related law was enacted in May 2025.

ACD is an initiative that allows the police and the Self-Defense Forces to infiltrate and neutralize servers they deem to be suspicious, even if Japan is not under cyberattack. However, if the targeted server is located in a foreign country, Japan’s action could be considered a preemptive act of war prohibited under the UN Charter.

The new cyber strategy, with China in mind, appeals for the need to improve cyber security capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region and states that Japan will provide support in this regard. It also states that when implementing measures to intrude and disable hostile servers, Japan will properly collaborate with its allies and like-minded countries by such means as sharing necessary information and jointly formulating responses. This indicates the possibility that the SDF together with the U.S. military may carry out attacks against servers in foreign countries.

Under the ACD-related legislation, if the government enters into agreements with core infrastructure providers and private businesses, it will be able to use communication information obtained from those business entities for purposes other than the prevention of damage from cyberattacks. The law enables the police to access and neutralize servers without obtaining court warrants and to collect citizens’ personal information. This will constitute a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed privacy in regard to various forms of communication. In addition, it is highly likely that the arbitrary use of the ACD initiative will lead to an increase in police surveillance of citizens.

Past related article:
> Cyber defense bill allows collection and use of private information without consent [March 27, 2025]