News Classified Japanese diplomatic documents leaked after Chinese cyberattacks

Japan has lagged behind other developed countries in developing its cybersecurity defences, causing great concern to its close security ally, the United States. Washington has urged Tokyo to improve its cybersecurity capabilities. In its National Security Strategy updated recently, Japan pledged to introduce "active cyber defence" to eliminate in advance the possibility of serious cyberattacks that could threaten "national security and critical infrastructure." But bills to implement a more active approach to cyber defence have not been submitted to parliament as discussions on the issue have stalled, with fears lingering that such a move could violate the nation's Constitutional guarantee on the secrecy of communications. Among other governmental offices that have suffered cyberattacks, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency was likely targeted by an attack last year, but no sensitive information on rockets or satellites was accessed. In August, the government's National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity said it found that email addresses and other information might have been leaked due to unauthorized external access.

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