Original Coverage & Source Attribution: the420.in
Japan has issued a nationwide cybersecurity warning and asked government bodies, local authorities and private companies to strengthen their defences after a sharp rise in cyberattacks and large-scale data leaks.
The move follows a series of incidents affecting major Japanese companies, including Daiwa Securities, SoftBank, Lawson and other businesses.
One of the largest recent breaches involved car-sharing service Times Car, where information linked to around 6.6 million customer accounts was exposed.
Japan has not formally declared a legal “cyber emergency”, but the government has stepped up coordination across ministries and warned that the scale and sophistication of attacks are increasing rapidly.
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Government Orders Wider Cybersecurity Response
Digital Transformation Minister Toshiharu Furukawa convened a meeting of ministries and government agencies following the recent attacks.
Japan’s National Cybersecurity Office is also preparing warnings and instructions for government departments, local authorities and private companies.
Furukawa said cyberattacks were increasing both in number and sophistication and were beginning to create significant disruption for businesses and ordinary citizens.
The government is urging organisations to review basic cybersecurity practices, improve authentication controls and prepare for further attacks.
Japan Records Sharp Increase in Cyber Incidents
Cybersecurity incidents in Japan have accelerated during 2026.
Reuters reported that Japan recorded more incidents during the first nine months of the year than during all of 2025.
September alone saw 86 incidents, an increase of around 18% from August and 37% from July.
Separate research cited by India Today said Japan had already recorded more than 500 cyberattacks this year, compared with 473 last year and 503 in 2024.
The figures come from different datasets, so they should not be treated as directly interchangeable, but both point to the same trend: attack activity is rising quickly.
Multiple Companies Have Reported Data Leaks
The recent wave has affected several major organisations rather than a single national database.
Daiwa Securities, SoftBank and convenience-store chain Lawson are among companies that have faced cyber incidents.
The Times Car breach was particularly large, affecting information linked to about 6.6 million customer accounts.
Reportedly exposed information across recent incidents has included contact details, driving licence information and other personal data.
Japanese officials have warned that stolen information could later be used for identity theft, fraudulent transfers, phishing or other scams.
AI May Be Lowering the Barrier for Attackers
Japanese and South Korean cybersecurity officials are increasingly concerned that artificial intelligence is allowing less-skilled attackers to conduct more effective cyber operations.
AI tools can help automate vulnerability scanning, write phishing messages and assist with coding.
Experts told Reuters that AI is reducing language and technical barriers that once made cross-border attacks more difficult.
S&J Corp president Nobuo Miwa compared the volume of attacks hitting Japan to “carpet bombing”, while warning that many traditional assumptions about attacker capabilities were becoming outdated.
The available evidence does not mean every recent Japanese breach was carried out using AI.
Authorities are still investigating whether and how AI was involved in individual incidents.
South Korea Is Facing Similar Pressure
Japan is not alone.
South Korea has also experienced a surge in attacks, including incidents affecting nine banks and two major churches.
Some of those attacks are suspected to have involved AI-assisted tools.
South Korea reported 1,236 cyber incidents in the first half of 2026, up 20% from a year earlier.
Reports of distributed denial-of-service attacks rose 56.7%, while ransomware incidents increased 76.8%.
The simultaneous rise in both countries has strengthened concerns that AI is accelerating cybercrime across East Asia.
Government Tells Citizens to Strengthen Basic Security
Japanese authorities are advising people to stop reusing passwords, enable multi-factor authentication and remain cautious about suspicious emails and messages.
That advice is especially important after large data breaches.
Once names, contact details or identification information are leaked, criminals can use real personal information to make fraudulent messages appear more convincing.
The initial breach may therefore be followed by a second wave of phishing, smishing and impersonation attacks.
What this means for you
Japan’s warning is not a formal declaration of a national cyber emergency, but it reflects a serious escalation in government concern. The bigger story is that repeated corporate breaches, millions of exposed customer records and AI-assisted attack tools are forcing governments to rethink how quickly businesses must detect and respond to cyber threats.
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