Japanese Govt-Led Program to Train Local Officials in Cybersecurity, Encourage Cyberattack Preparedness

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, April 14, 2026

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has decided to conduct its first cybersecurity training program for local government officials later this year, it has been learned. As cyberattacks become increasingly sophisticated and complex, there is a shortage of specialized human resources within local governments to handle countermeasures. As a result, the ministry aims to help local governments foster such personnel through a central government-led initiative and encourage preparedness for cyberattacks.

The training will be held at the Local Autonomy College in Tachikawa, Tokyo, which is administered by the ministry, for a total of 100 officials from prefectural and municipal governments in October and December.

Each session will last two weeks. In cooperation with private-sector information security companies, the program will include lectures on related laws and technological aspects, as well as instruction on how to respond to unauthorized access and data breaches.

In April 2025, the ministry established a “cybersecurity management office” at the ministry’s Local Administration Bureau to enhance local governments’ response capabilities on cyberattacks. Legislative reforms are also underway. For example, the revised Local Government Law, which took effect in April, requires local governments formulate basic cybersecurity policies.

A senior ministry official noted that “the shortage of human resources is particularly severe in small municipalities” compared to prefectures and government-designated cities that have large staff bodies. The ministry plans to address these regional disparities by continuing the training programs under an initiative led by the central government starting next fiscal year.

In recent years, there have been a series of personal data leaks from contractors due to cyberattacks targeting local governments. In March, it was revealed that a contractor subcontracted by the Tokyo metropolitan government had been attacked, potentially resulting in the names and addresses of water utility users from 130,000 households in Tokyo being leaked.