The Japanese government submitted to parliament Friday a bill allowing police and the Self-Defense Forces to neutralize enemy servers in the event of a cyberattack targeting critical infrastructure, in a bid to strengthen the nation's preemptive cyber defense capabilities.
Provided by Kyodo News
The active cyber defense bill is designed to provide more tools for the government to combat pressing cyber threats on national security. The country aims to enhance its cybersecurity capacity to levels on par with that of the United States and major European nations.
Police will first be tasked with neutralizing enemy servers, with the SDF's cyber unit stepping in on the prime minister's order when their expertise is required.
Situations that warrant the involvement of the SDF include highly organized cyberattacks by a foreign government entity on "essential computers," such as those used by central and local governments, core infrastructure operators, as well as the SDF and U.S. forces in Japan.
The bill also obliges operators of core infrastructure, such as the electricity network and railways, to report to the government if they come under cyberattack.
The bill will penalize operators who fail to report as well as government officials who leak information collected during surveillance activities.
However, as the bill will allow the government to monitor digital communications, there are concerns it may violate the constitutional right to secrecy of communication.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, the government's top spokesman, tried to allay concerns at a press conference, saying, "The government will not know the content of conversations and email text," adding the bill will be consistent with the Constitution.