The importance of cybersecurity in inter-State conflicts has been highlighted once again after Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This session will examine Japanʼs National
Security Strategy from an international, constitutional, criminal and comparative law perspective. It will discuss Japanʼs arguments and the direction Japan should take in the future.
The aim is to inform debates on this issue in Japan in a comprehensive manner, with input from experts with different legal backgrounds. Issues covered include the secrecy of
communications under constitutional law, the prohibition on the use of force and the right to self-defence as well as other available responses under international law, such as
countermeasures and the state of necessity, and how domestic criminal legislation will be adopted to justify such cyber defence methods.
Outline of the presentation.
(1) Outline of the National Security Strategy and its history to date(Takahashi)
(2) Position of the national security strategy in terms of international law (Dias)
(3) Trends in the development of national laws for defence in NATO member states and other
countries (Wobma)
(4) Active cyber defence and constitutional theory in Japan (Sogabe)
(5) Active cyber defence and defence/criminal procedure law in Japan (Nishigai)
(6) Panel discussion