U.S.-Japan Cooperation in Cybersecurity

In 2013, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Sasakawa USA, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies established a bilateral commission of distinguished policymakers and scholars to develop a strategic vision for the U.S.-Japan alliance. This report is intended to inform those commissioners, as well as the general public, on how that alliance has shifted in the view of a changing global cyber landscape.

Cybersecurity is an increasingly important issue for collective self-defense, and both parties in the U.S.-Japan alliance have work to do to address it. Japan has made significant strides in improving its cybersecurity posture in the last few years, but cybersecurity remains an area of vulnerability for Japan and the bilateral security alliance. Given its unique relationship with Japan, the United States needs a more active approach to mutual cyber defense and should ensure that this active approach is a component of a larger international strategy.