By Franz-Stefan Gady
During this week’s visit to Israel, Japan’s prime minister will discuss collaboration in fighting cyber terrorism.
Japan is continuing to expand its network of partner across the world to tackle growing threats emerging from cyberspace. Next to deepening ties with Europe, Japan has also launched a new cyber security dialogue with Israel. As The Diplomat reported back in October 2014, the number of cyber-attacks on Japan is rising rapidly and Tokyo has embarked on an international campaign aimed at strengthening ties with like-minded countries in cyberspace.
At the beginning of January 2014, the Israeli Cabinet approved an investment plan to bolster Israel-Japan trade ties. The plan involves numerous government ministries in both countries, a major investment over the next three years, and among other things, aims to bolster joint research on space and cybersecurity development. The groundwork for this was laid back in July 2014 when Israel and Japan signed a research and cooperation agreement – the first such agreement ever for Japan. The agreement stipulates the dispersion of funds to Israeli and Japanese companies and research centers to conduct a wide range of research including on information and cybersecurity.
Back in May 2012, after a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , the former, according to Bloomberg News, stated that both countries agreed to, “an exchange of views between the two national security organizations and to promote cooperation in the field of national defense and cyber security.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat