Strategy and Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
(3) Cybersecurity capacity building support in developing countries have been conducted by many
ministries. However, amid tight fiscal conditions, it is becoming increasingly important to provide
support strategically and efficiently as a nationwide effort, and to engage in close collaboration
between the public and private sectors, as well as between relevant ministries, in order to maximize
the benefits of the support.
With European countries and US increased attention to the Indo-Pacific region, the COVID-19
pandemic has led to growing opportunities for countries to provide the region with capacity building
online, whether it is from the public or private sector. As such, it is crucial for Japan to leverage the
rapid spread of remote work environments as an opportunity to take the necessary steps. We should
build an environment that allows various experts in the public and private sectors to flexibly support
capacity building from anywhere, and also a framework that enables effective support, according
to the diverse needs of developing countries, in collaboration with diverse stakeholders including
like-minded countries, international organizations such as the World Bank, industry and academia.
2 Approaches of Support
Capacity building support in the cybersecurity field is largely categorized into four groups: (1)
support for ensuring cyber hygiene through the protection of critical infrastructure and other means,
(2) support for measures against cybercrimes, (3) sharing understanding and cyber situational
awareness of international rules and confidence building measures, and (4) human resources
development and other cross-sectoral areas. However, the status of systems and readiness in the
cybersecurity field differs among developing countries to be supported, so it is necessary to identify
new threats in cyberspace and the needs of each country, and to provide support in a way that makes
the most of Japan’s strengths. To ensure efficient and effective support, these initiatives must be
carried out by continuing to exchange information and coordinate policies to the extent possible
with like-minded countries, including in particular the United States, Japan’s ally. This will not only
help avoid redundant support, but also enable the pursuit of synergy effects.
(1) Support for ensuring cyber hygiene through the protection of critical infrastructure and other means
Capacity building support in the cybersecurity field has been provided mainly for government
agencies in ASEAN member states to date. While continuing to support government agencies, we
will enhance support for critical infrastructure, an area where there are growing needs for supporting
measures as infrastructure development advances in each country based on the relationship so far.
In addition, we will expand the scope of support in the Indo-Pacific region based on past
achievements and experiences in capacity building support in the ASEAN region.
(a) ASEAN region
For the government agencies of ASEAN member states, we have built a positive relationship of
trust through continuous support in collaboration with like-minded countries for over a decade. We
have undertaken initiatives including the ASEAN-Japan Cybersecurity Policy Meeting, the
ASEAN-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Centre (AJCCBC), and the Industrial Cyber
Security Center of Excellence (ICSCoE) implemented by Information-technology Promotion
Agency, Japan (IPA). In particular, we have been putting greater emphasis on AJCCBC, for example,
by providing online exercises and expanding training options targeted to government officials and
employees of critical infrastructure operators in ASEAN member states. Furthermore, the Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and ICSCoE are conducting industrial control system
2