Economic Security Promotion Law: Protect People’s Lives by Taking Flexible Approach to Revision

Editorial

16:01 JST, November 23, 2025

The risk of such incidents as cyberattacks possibly halting critical infrastructure services or leaking information on cutting-edge technologies is increasing.

To protect people’s daily lives and economic activities, it is necessary to promptly review relevant laws and regulations.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has instructed relevant ministers to revise the Economic Security Promotion Law. They will look into expanding the scope of “essential infrastructure” — which currently covers 15 business sectors, such as electric power, communications and financial services — for which the central government takes the lead in implementing measures. Consideration likely will also be made to include Japanese companies operating overseas as eligible for government support.

The law was enacted in 2022 for purposes such as ensuring the security of industrial foundations and building supply chains for critical minerals. However, since then, a series of incidents have occurred that the current law is not equipped to deal with.

For example, cyberattacks on medical institutions have continued unabated. In 2024, a private hospital in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, was hit by a cyberattack. A server used to manage patients’ medical images became inaccessible, forcing the hospital to restrict emergency and outpatient services.

Such incidents, which disrupt daily life by interfering with health care services, cannot be left unresolved. The government should add medical institutions to the list of essential infrastructure service providers.

Once a sector is designated as essential infrastructure, the central government checks in advance factors such as whether foreign products that could pose security threats are being used when companies in those sectors digitize information.

Recently, Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. suffered a cyberattack, and supplies of products, including beer, are still disrupted. Because the food industry is not specified as an essential infrastructure service provider, the government does not get involved in cybersecurity measures in the sector.

However, considering the possible significant impact on people’s lives, even if companies fall outside the legal scope, taking a flexible approach — such as allowing such firms to voluntarily join information-sharing frameworks — is worth considering.

Securing critical minerals is another urgent task. China has pressured other countries by threatening to restrict its rare earth exports.

The government reportedly aims to import minerals from more countries, including in Africa, by revising the law to allow for providing support for Japanese companies involved in port development and shipbuilding projects in other countries. If realized, this will also help Japan secure the safety of sea lanes.

In recent years, there have been a series of incidents in which undersea cables were damaged, such as around Taiwan and in the Baltic Sea. Some suspect sabotage by China or Russia.

Japan, as an island nation, relies on undersea cables for international communications, but the current law does not allow the government to extend support for laying and maintaining such cables. These issues are also key points for revising the law.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 23, 2025)