Japan declares cyber ‘emergency’ after millions affected in hacks

What happened

In a press conference last Friday (9 October), the country’s Ministry for Finance said that banks should implement appropriate verification mechanisms when new bank accounts are opened, including by mandating ID cards with chips. Government sites across Europe have also been affected in attempted data breaches in recent months.

ENTERPRISE Japan declares cyber ‘emergency’ after millions affected in hacks by Suhasini Srinivasaragavan 12 Oct 2026 Save article Image: © Jeffrey/Stock.adobe.com Government sites across Europe have also been affected in attempted data breaches in recent months. Japan’s financial regulator has asked banks to protect themselves against fraud after a series of cyberattacks rattled the country in recent years.

“In recent years, there have been a series of unauthorised access incidents in various industries, resulting in numerous cyber incidents in which customer information, including images of identity verification documents, has been leaked,” the country’s finance minister Satsuki Katayama said in the press conference. The financial services agency said it would issue a warning to banks.