- Japan's military will be allowed to conduct offensive cyber operations
- The government's decision involved a reinterpretation of the constitution
- Japan faces "the most complicated national security environment" since 1945
From October 1 2026, Japan’s Self-Defense Force will be allowed to conduct offensive cyber-operations.
Japan’s government made the decision to interpret Clause 9 of the country's constitution to allow for offensive cyber-operations that pursue infrastructure used to conduct cyber attacks.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara explained in his afternoon briefing that Japan faces, “the most complicated national security environment” it has seen since World War II.
Reinterpreting the constitution
When Japan adopted its modern constitution in 1946, Article 9 outlawed the nation’s ability to participate in any military acts of aggression. As a result, the Japanese military has been known as the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) since its founding in 1954.
However, there have been several reinterpretations of Article 9, including a 2014 reinterpretation to allow the Self-Defense Forces to contribute towards and support allied actions that are combating a situation that threatens the existence of Japan.
Now, with cyberspace increasingly becoming a further platform for countries to conduct offensive operations, Japan is once again changing its interpretation.
The decision to pursue offensive actions in cyberspace will not be the sole discretion of the JSDF. A government cyber-management committee will provide authorization on offensive cyber actions on a case-by-case basis.
This is quickly becoming a global trend. The Trump administration recently unveiled its National Cyber Strategy to provide the administration with the capacity to “deploy the full suite of US government defensive and offensive cyber operations”. The strategy also stated that the US “will not confine [its] responses to the “cyber” realm,” suggesting real world actions against infrastructure used to commit cyber attacks.
Why are nations turning towards offensive cyber ops?
Traditionally, cyber attacks committed by, or on behalf of, nation states have been for intelligence gathering purposes or for sabotage. Russia, Iran and China have been spotted probing US critical infrastructure for years, with the likely intention being supportive attacks in the outbreak of a full conflict.
Now, with AI lowering the barriers for entry into the world of cyber, attacks have spiked significantly. Much of our life exists in the digital world and is an attractive target for both low caliber attackers looking to make some quick money, and for nation states looking to influence elections or cripple communications.
It is becoming clear that many countries are beginning to see offense as the best defense, especially as months long international operations to shut down online forums selling stolen data can be circumvented by simply rehosting the forum elsewhere. Targeting the real-world infrastructure appears to be a preferable choice.
