Japanese companies have seen a surge in cyberattacks in recent weeks as AI tools
lower the barrier to large-scale intrusion. Trend Micro data show an unusually
high number of Japanese institutions reported data breaches in September,
including 13 incidents in a single day — a year-to-date peak. Reported victims
include SoftBank and Daiwa Securities. NTT chief cybersecurity strategist Mihoko
Matsubara said recent attacks appear aimed at stealing personal data rather than
causing outages, but warned some attackers may be probing Japan’s active
defenses and that more destructive attacks are possible. Finance minister
Katayama on Friday urged financial institutions to recheck cybersecurity
measures; the Financial Services Agency called for inspections covering
third-party risk and tighter online identity-verification controls.
