Summary of Minister Fujii’s Post-Cabinet Press Conference

At the press conference, the minister explained the Consumer Price Index reported and the Subcapital Law commencement date decided at the Cabinet meeting, along with a draft guideline under the amended Act on Measures to Address Information Distribution Platforms. Questions covered cybersecurity measures, the draft guideline’s effects and effectiveness, PHP vulnerabilities, and the steps for developing a subcapital.

It is expected that operators’ adoption of diverse mitigating measures based on the guideline will help reduce adverse effects on electoral fairness.

Voluntary efforts by operators are expected to advance through social evaluations based on publication of implementation status under the law and users’ service choices. Users, media organizations, and others checking and comparing these efforts was said to help ensure and improve their effectiveness.

Developing a subcapital aims to establish a backup system for central government functions in the event of a major disaster, correct the concentration of functions in Tokyo, and form a multipolar, decentralized economic zone.

The minister reported the Consumer Price Index at the Cabinet meeting. In September, the overall index rose 2.1% from a year earlier, and the index excluding fresh food also rose 2.1%.

The Cabinet approved an ordinance setting the commencement date of the Subcapital Law, which will take effect on October 30. The government will enact an ordinance setting designation requirements and formulate a basic policy within one year after the law takes effect. Public comments on proposed population and GDP requirements were accepted through October 16; the comments are being organized, and the minister said they would also be taken into account when formulating the ordinance.

Under the amended Act on Measures to Address Information Distribution Platforms, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications drafted guidelines on the proper and effective implementation of measures to reduce adverse effects on electoral fairness. The amended law was enacted in July of this year and requires the ministry to formulate guidelines. The draft gives examples of measures for large-scale platform operators, including monetization measures and responses to AI-generated content, and sets out the basic principle that freedom of expression should not be excessively chilled. It also reflects the agreement reached by the cross-party council on election campaigning, which was submitted to the ministry on October 9. The guidelines will be finalized after public comment, as early as the end of the year, in preparation for the amended law taking effect on March 1. The law does not require judgments on the illegality of individual information or its removal. It requires operators to take mitigating measures and publish their implementation status.

On October 20, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan’s National Cybersecurity Strategy Headquarters finalized recommendations on fundamentally strengthening cybersecurity measures. The recommendations cover five areas: stronger measures by telecommunications operators, research and development by NICT, preventing equipment from being used as a stepping stone for attacks, measures by local governments and national support, and accelerating the deployment of quantum cryptographic communications in society. The ministry is considering data protection and security and measures to prevent equipment from being used as a stepping stone for attacks through two study groups. In its FY2027 budget request, it is seeking funds to advance NICT research and development and accelerate the deployment of quantum cryptographic communications by building a wide-area testbed across Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. The ministry is asking local governments to address basic vulnerabilities and is providing information and support for vulnerability assessments using AI models and follow-up measures based on the results.

An update fixing a serious vulnerability in PHP, which is used by many websites, was released late at night on October 21. Because exploitation could allow programs to be run illicitly from outside, the government, led by the National Cybersecurity Office, urged users to apply the update. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications notified critical infrastructure operators in the telecommunications, broadcasting, and postal sectors under its jurisdiction, as well as local governments. It urged website operators using PHP to apply the update promptly and, if using a version that has reached end of support, to upgrade to a newer supported version.