4.3.2 International rulemaking In order to ensure stable use of cyberspace, there are ongoing global efforts for international rulemaking on the use of cyberspace. For instance, the Group of Government Experts (GGE) established under the First Committee of the UN General Assembly issued a report in June 2013, which refers to norms for state use of information and communication technology. Japan will continue to make active contributions to such global endeavors and will share our basic principles and policies at every opportunity. With respect to norms for state use of information and communication technology, given the rapid progress of cyber technology, we consider it more realistic to promptly develop legally non-binding soft norms covering various acts in cyberspace, without creating a room for excessive state control. Japan is of the view that existing international law, including the U.N. Charter and international humanitarian law, naturally applies to acts in cyberspace. Japan will further examine how specific legal norms can apply to certain specific acts, taking into account the distinctive characteristics of information and communication network technology. As Japan actively took part in discussions at the U.N. GGE as an expert in drafting the abovementioned report Japan intends to lead international discussion further on the specifics of how existing international law should be applied to acts in cyberspace. On the other hand, given the imminence of cyber threats and difficulty of identifying perpetrators of cyber attacks, it is important to improve the predictability of each country / region’s cyberspace actions and to promote confidence-building measure in order to avoid unexpected escalation that are not intended by parties, for instance as a result of misidentification of attackers. As measures to build confidence with various countries, Japan will continue to publicly announce its various strategies, strengthen cooperation among CSIRTs and establish information-sharing systems, among others. Efforts are also underway to build a policy framework for cybersecurity with an emphasis on the social and economic aspect of cyberspace, such as the review of OECD’s Guidelines for the Security of Information Systems and Networks. Such efforts also form part of international rulemaking. Japan has participated proactively in the discussions at the OECD, and will continue to robustly promote these initiatives in cooperation with various countries. 9