Number of cleared cybercrime cases in Japan 2014-2023

The number of cleared cybercrime cases in Japan amounted to about 12.48 thousand in 2023. It consistently increased in recent years.

Most common type of cleared cybercrimes are frauds

A breakdown of cleared cybercrime cases shows that fraud was the most common type of cleared cybercrime, followed by violations of the law against child pornography. The latter continues to be a problem despite a revision of the legislation in 2014 following international concern about the sexual exploitation of children in Japan. Crimes involving financial damages repeatedly made the headlines in Japanese news outlets in recent years. The number of online banking frauds surged in 2023, which led to an increase in the amount of money lost through online banking frauds.

Improving Japan’s cybersecurity strategy

Preventing damages by cyberattacks has become more and more important as citizens and the economy increasingly rely on online networks and services. As Japan was elected host of the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2013 and the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI) introduced the vision of an increasingly interconnected “Society 5.0” in 2016, there was a strong motivation to improve the country’s cybersecurity strategy. Among other things, Japan enacted the Basic Act on Cybersecurity and established the Cybersecurity Strategic Headquarters in 2014. In 2022, a new bureau featuring a special investigative team dedicated to cybercrimes was established at the National Police Agency. The bureau is supposed to centralize cybercrime related tasks and features a special investigative team that handles threats such as attacks on local governments and critical infrastructure.