A government panel of experts on Friday called for legislation to allow the government to monitor communications for active cyber defense, or preemptive action to prevent cyberattacks.
The panel, headed by former Ambassador to the United States Kenichiro Sasae, said that surveillance “needs to be conducted before attacks become apparent.”
Given the constitutionally protected secrecy of communications, the panel sought the establishment of an independent body to oversee the government.
The government plans to submit related legislation during next year’s ordinary session of parliament.
The panel pointed to the need to monitor communications between foreign countries via Japan, as well as those between Japan and foreign countries, considering possible cyberattacks using malware-infected servers in Japan.
It is essential for the Japanese government to have the authority to access attackers’ servers to neutralize threats, the panel noted. It urged measures that are “acceptable under international law” to deal with cases that could affect the sovereignty of other countries.
The panel said that the secrecy of communications, which is enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution, can be restricted for the sake of the public good, but also noted the importance of oversight by an independent third party.
The panel added that it is not appropriate to analyze “the essence of communications,” such as the text of personal emails.
The panel also called on key infrastructure operators that may become cyberattack targets to cooperate with the government, such as providing access to communications data.
The government decided to adopt active cyber defense in its 2022 national security strategy, which called for “improving cyber capabilities to at least the same level as major Western countries.”
The expert panel began discussing the issue in June under the administration of then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.