## Section 3: Future Approach

In April 2013, the “Act on the Partial Amendment of the Public Offices Election Act” was enacted, and with the consequent lifting of bans such as the prohibition of electoral campaigns using the Internet, resulting in the further expansion of areas in which the Internet is used, we have entered an era in which it is ever more difficult to imagine life without the Internet. Within this backdrop, if a serious cybercrime or cyber-attack does occur, the impact on socioeconomic activities in real-space will be incalculable. Now, in terms of citizens’ everyday lives and economic activities, the importance of cyberspace is on a par with that of real-space, making cyberspace another new field alongside real-space in which the police should endeavour to ensure safety and security.

In light of advance-notice crime/virus distribution cases using the Internet that occurred between June and September 2012, the NPA compiled and announced “The Immediate Action Programme for the Reinforcement of the Abilities to cope with Cybercrimes in January 2013, to enable the police to deal with a wide range of incidents that may arise in cyberspace in the future. This program centers on the improvement of response capabilities, the utilization of private sector know-how, the promotion of international cooperation and enlightenment activities. The police have steadily promoted policies such as this program and are committed to reinforcing response capabilities in relation to the various situations that may arise in cyber-space.

Above all, with the aim of enhancing deterrence measures against cybercrime and cyber-attack and investigative capabilities in cyberspace, the most urgent tasks are to establish frameworks for cooperation between industry, academia and the government and to develop environments that will enable proper investigations against cybercrimes that exploit the anonymity and other weaknesses of the Internet.

Up to now, the main bodies in industry, academia and the government have each been promoting their own approaches relevant to their own positions, and have amassed an abundance of knowledge and experience. However, approaches that effectively integrate the compilation and analyses of information these sectors hold for deterrence measures against cybercrime and cyber-attacks and investigations in cyberspace have not always been sufficient. In order to efficiently identify and mitigate threats in cyberspace, the United States has already established a non-profit organization called the National Cyber-Forensics & Training Alliance (NCFTA) with the aim of promoting information sharing and cooperation between industry, academia and the government. In Japan also, it will be necessary to promote an approach that includes the establishment of this type of cooperative framework.

In addition, the possibility of tracking events after they have occurred has not been secured in Japan as there is no system for retaining traffic data of telecommunications (logs), and this is proving to be an issue in dealing with cybercrime, etc. The “Cybersecurity Strategy” drafted by the government’s Information Security Policy Council in June of the same year states that, “In order to secure the possibility of tracking events after they have occurred, the retention of traffic data of telecommunications (logs), etc. of related businesses… (omitted)... must be reviewed”. On this point, recent technological advancements have reduced the price of electromagnetic storage media by capacity, which has in turn reduced the burden on communications businesses, etc. in terms of log retention. The police are committed to taking part in reviews concerning the retention of logs with the relevant ministries and agencies, while taking into consideration aspects such as the types of logs that would be beneficial in terms of security, log storage periods that are applied overseas, and the diverse opinions of citizens.

By steadily promoting this type of approach, the police are working towards the construction of the safe and secure cyberspace that is essential to the realization of a world leading IT society.

The Immediate Action Programme for the Reinforcement of the Abilities to Cope with Cybercrimes (Overview)