Japan joined NATO Cyber Defense Center and deepened cooperation in techs with its members
“NATO and Japan are committed to strengthening relations to address shared security challenges. The practical cooperation includes areas such as maritime security, cyber defense and non-proliferation,” announced NATO in May, 2022. Image: NATO
On November 4, the Japanese Ministry of Defense (JMOD) officially declared that Japan “will formally join NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence’s (#CCDCOE) activities, following the completion of participation procedures. JMOD will continue to collaborate with international partners to respond to threats in the cyber domain.” In doing so, Japan becomes the ninth non-NATO state and the second Asian state formally participating in the center.
This is a decisive step towards realizing the goals of the announcement made in January 2018 by former Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo that Japan will join CCDCOE at some point. After the announcement, Japan as a non-member state, has expanded its contribution to some Trust Fund projects with NATO member states. Such developments "reflect an intersection of two increasingly important considerations in Japanese security thinking; the criticality of diverse international partnerships in a difficult geopolitical environment, and the need to afford cybersecurity the security policy relevance it is due," said Jiro Minier, an East Asian cyberespionage and cybersecurity policy analyst. According to Jiro, Japan joining CCDCOE is “just one of many milestones during a busy period” for Japan’s cybersecurity efforts.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (not pictured) deliver joint statements to the media at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 6, 2017. Photo: Eric Vidal/ Reuters
Shortly after its formal membership of CCDCOE, Japan has started cooperating in greater depth with member states in CCDCOE in containing not only Russia, but also China. For example, Japan plans to conduct collaborative research on next-generation semiconductor technologies with American firms as a complementary measure to the recent ban of US chips to China.
On November 7, Zhao Lijian, the speaker of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, criticized NATO for violating its promise that NATO, as a regional alliance, would not expand into the Asia-Pacific. Zhao stressed that the world, especially countries in the Asia-Pacific region, should stay on high alert. “Due to its history of modern militarist aggression, what Japan should do is to earnestly learn lessons from history, stick to the path of peaceful development, and refrain from doing anything that undermines mutual trust between countries in East Asia, a highland of peace and stability and of cooperation and development, not a battleground for geopolitical contention,” said Zhao. Up to now, other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including South Korea, North Korea, and Russia, have not given immediate responses.