Takaichi orders an emergency cyber package at Japan's first cyber ministerial meeting, bringing forward AI-driven vulnerability testing

A chain of breaches forced the first meeting

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara announced the meeting at his 26 October press conference; attendees included Prime Minister Takaichi, cyber security minister Toshiharu Furukawa and METI minister Ryosei Akazawa. The Prime Minister opened by saying that repeated cyberattacks on Japanese companies had produced many large-scale data breaches. Recent cases cited in press coverage include more than 51.62 million records leaked at Ymirlink, up to about 2.6 million overseas booking records at Rakuten Travel, roughly 550 million yen of e-gift vouchers fraudulently issued at a giftee subsidiary, and about 6.6 million accounts at Times Car, against the backdrop of the autumn 2025 ransomware attacks on Asahi Group and Askul.

The active cyber defence regime began operating only on 1 October, and this meeting was the first political-level response since the regime took effect. Takaichi said that once an attack is attributed, the government would strategically select and execute every response option, including 'access and neutralisation measures', and told Furukawa to pursue attribution together with allies and overseas agencies. Asked on 27 October about GMO Internet Group's request for active cyber defence after its breach, Furukawa said individual responses would not be disclosed and that the case would be handled through the police investigation and the public-private council established in October.

AI-driven vulnerability testing moves earlier

The instructions that bear directly on AI sit on the prevention side. Takaichi asked Akazawa to bring forward simulated attacks by 'top-gun' talent using IPA personnel and high-performance AI, and to build an observation network for supply-chain attacks. For government systems, each minister is to bring forward 'vulnerability checks using high-performance AI' drawing on the expertise of the AI Safety Institute (AISI). METI had already set out a timetable on 23 October, and a white-hat hacker team is reported to start work in November.

The direction extends the May package compiled by the National Cyber Office on cyber measures in light of advancing AI performance (Project YATA-Shield). The significance of this meeting therefore lies in politically accelerating existing measures and elevating them into an emergency package with fiscal backing, rather than in creating a new framework. How far the schedule moves, and which systems are covered, has yet to be published.

Victim support and a window for small firms

For victim support, the government will strengthen consultation through IPA and the police and coordinate with private bodies and local governments; the National Cyber Office, with METI's cooperation, will build a mechanism that draws on private expertise from initial response through recovery. For small and medium-sized firms, ministers will urgently consider expanding the 'Cyber Security Help Squad' scheme, and Akazawa said at his 27 October press conference that METI would open free special consultation windows nationwide. On information gathering, Furukawa will widen participation in the Cyber Council to include security vendors, and each minister will collect damage reports from their sectors for analysis by the National Cyber Office.