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 warn

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.