Summary of Minister Fujii’s Post-Cabinet Press Conference
Overview
At a press conference on November 10, 2026, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Fujii reported that real household consumption spending in September by households with two or more people fell 6.8% from a year earlier. He outlined measures for telecommunications carriers, local governments, and NICT under the Emergency Cybersecurity Measures Package, as well as the schedule for examining the legal framework for access deterrence measures. In response to questions, he addressed information leaks involving people covered by domestic violence and other support measures, vendor lock-in in local government systems, and the crackdown on fake base stations.
Key points
- Real consumption spending in September by households with two or more people fell 6.8% from a year earlier.
- The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will advance cybersecurity measures involving telecommunications carriers, local governments, and NICT.
- A total of 119 information leaks involving people covered by domestic violence and other support measures were reported from fiscal 2016 through the previous fiscal year.
- The Kanto Bureau of Telecommunications reported the operator of a fake base station, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested the suspect.
Overview
At a post-Cabinet meeting press conference on November 10, 2026, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Fujii explained the household survey results, cybersecurity measures, and the crackdown on fake base stations, and answered questions.
The Emergency Cybersecurity Measures Package was adopted at the second meeting of the relevant ministers on November 6. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will work with relevant ministries and agencies to implement the necessary measures.
Impact
The minister explained that consumption spending was below the previous year's level partly because of unfavorable weather and the effect of comparison with the previous year, when the Osaka-Kansai Expo was held.
The minister said that large-scale personal information leaks caused by recent cyberattacks could harm not only affected companies but also the public at large. He said it was important to prevent privacy violations caused by personal information being published online and further harm caused by misuse of that information.
The minister expressed regret that erroneous disclosures and other leaks had occurred in an important system for protecting victims of domestic violence and other abuse, and stressed the need to eliminate human error when warning notices are displayed.
Details
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will comprehensively review data protection and security for telecommunications carriers and develop the necessary systems, while also examining access deterrence measures to defend against cyberattacks. It will ask local governments to conduct vulnerability assessments using AI models and establish a support team working with specialist providers and others to assist all local government bodies. The ministry will strengthen NICT's analytical capabilities and work with the National Cybersecurity Office and others to improve the government's overall analytical capacity. It will compile measures targeting domestic devices used as attack footholds by the end of the year.
To examine the legal framework for access deterrence measures, the ministry will establish a group of academic experts under the existing Study Group on Data Protection and Security in Telecommunications Businesses in the Frontier AI Era, with discussions beginning in late November. The group will hear from relevant parties and consider issues including the relationship with the secrecy of communications. The minister declined to comment on specific responses to individual cases.
The support measures for people affected by domestic violence and other abuse protect victims by restricting access to or inspection of the Basic Resident Register. Since fiscal 2016, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has required each municipality to report information leaks. The ministry has asked all municipalities to thoroughly implement leak prevention measures to prevent cases in which copies of resident records and similar documents are issued despite a warning notice.
The fake base station investigated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications following a report from a mobile carrier had been set up without a license and was interfering with mobile phone communications. On November 7, the Kanto Bureau of Telecommunications conducted a joint enforcement operation with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, confirmed violations of the Radio Act, and reported the operator; the police arrested the suspect.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications explained that standardizing local governments' core business systems will make it easier for them to select and change vendors and create an environment where a wider range of vendors can participate, which is important for resolving vendor lock-in. It said unjustifiably high charges could make changes difficult and hinder optimization of migration and operating costs. When administering the Digital Infrastructure Reform Support Grant, the ministry will scrutinize costs with local governments and providers. It will monitor the Japan Fair Trade Commission's investigation and work to improve the competitive environment.