Japan to Introduce 100-Member Cyber Defense Unit by 2013
The Defense Ministry has said it will create in fiscal 2013 a special defense force with about 100 members to fight cyber-attacks.
The ministry on Friday announced the nation's first defense guidelines on cyber-attacks, which specify Japan could invoke its right to self-defense if a cyber-attack occurs as part of an armed offensive strike.
The guidelines stipulate cyberspace is "the fifth field of military operations" along with ground, sea, air and space, and state the ministry will establish a cyberspace defense force in the next fiscal year to study methods of counterattack. The guidelines further define cyberspace as "infrastructure that is essential for policy decisions and operations of [Self-Defense Force] units."
