Japan cybersecurity is the focus of a new emergency package unveiled by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government on Friday. The measures aim to address a growing cybersecurity crisis. They include a specialist team and cooperation with artificial intelligence companies to counter threats.

Japan has faced a barrage of high-profile cyberattacks this year. These have been attributed to the rise of AI and to security system vulnerabilities worsened by poor cyber hygiene.

The government will establish a team of specialists later this month. The team will focus on penetration testing and on strengthening security measures. A separate expert team, made up of government officials and private sector members, will also be dispatched to support companies dealing with an attack.

“We aim to enhance cyberresilience and alleviate public concerns through the early and effective implementation of the package,” Takaichi said at a ministerial meeting on cybersecurity on Friday.

She also said all information on cyberattacks should be centralized at the National Cybersecurity Office (NCO). This would allow the government to respond quickly. If critical infrastructure is attacked, operators should report to the NCO as swiftly as possible, she added.

On the funding side, the government will allocate ¥10 billion ($63.3 million) from the fiscal 2026 budget reserves for internal cybersecurity measures. The Cabinet approved the funding on Friday morning.

Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama outlined how the money will be used. Of the total, ¥2 billion will go toward using AI to check for weaknesses in critical government systems. Another ¥4.1 billion is set aside for cybersecurity police. The remaining ¥3.8 billion will strengthen the Digital Agency’s system security.

The package also includes further steps. The government will start discussions on website blocking to restrict the malicious activities of cyberattackers. In a similar case, a website used by the hackers behind a data breach of GMO Internet Group was taken down by the site administrator. The move was meant to prevent further public leaks of personal information.

In addition, the measures call for an update to security management guidelines by next January. The update would require unnecessary personal information to be deleted so it cannot be maliciously accessed.

Friday’s package follows an urgent ministerial meeting held last week. That meeting was convened after GMO made a public plea for government intervention.

The company has been dealing with a data breach of its desktop cloud service Onamae.com. The breach affected more than 26,000 servers, including accounts used for foreign exchange trading. It also led to a virtual hostage situation between the company and hackers holding customers’ personal information for ransom.

Japan has been working to close gaps in this area. It passed the Active Cyber Defense Act in May 2025 to bring its defenses up to par with Western countries. Last month, a provision took effect authorizing access neutralization measures. These allow the police and the Self-Defense Forces to disrupt attackers’ operations at their source and preempt attacks.

The NCO also set up a special cybersecurity response website last week. It offers warning information and helplines for those worried about cybersecurity risks. On Thursday, the office issued protocols for businesses to lower the risk of an attack. These include continuously monitoring for vulnerabilities, applying patches and checking whether pages meant only for back-end administrators are publicly accessible.

Cyberattacks are rising worldwide. Major incidents include the theft of $6.3 billion from cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Another involved the remote tampering of supermarket refrigerator units across Europe, which spoiled millions of euros worth of food.

With this package, Japan cybersecurity efforts now combine specialist teams, new funding and closer coordination through the NCO.

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