Japan is “far behind” the US in cyber-attack preparedness — but that’s actually a good thing for crypto
The Japanese government is currently pushing for an “active cyber defense” policy, and the country’s major media outlets are doing their best to help with these efforts with stories that alert the public. However, emulating the examples of the US and UK, as the Nikkei index suggests should be done, is in the worst interests of peaceful cryptocurrency and privacy advocates in Japan.
Not long ago, I reported that Masaaki Taira, Japan’s Minister of Digital Transformation (DX), was receiving orders from the self-described “defense-obsessed” Prime Minister Shib to expedite work on the “Active Cyber Defense” (ACD) bill. The bill is controversial because it would involve state-level spying on the Japanese people via private telecommunications companies, even in peacetime, and providing the information to the US.
Some Japanese are also skeptical that the scandal-tainted Taira may have ties to anti-Japanese interests in the Chinese Communist Party.