US, Japan near cyber defense agreement

The U.S. and Japan are close to striking a bargain on bilateral defense rules that would bolster joint efforts to defend cyberspace.

The move comes amid growing hacking threats from Asian power China and the reclusive North Korea.

The agreement will update a standing defense alliance that has not been revisited since 1997 Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani said at a press conference Wednesday with his U.S. counterpart, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

{mosads}The revised defense guidelines will “give us the opportunity to extend [the alliance’s] reach into new domains like space and cyber,” said Carter, who is making his first trip to Asia since being installed as head of the Pentagon.

Cybersecurity, Nakatani said, “has become a common security issue for both nations.”

The press conference was short on specifics regarding the cyber arrangement. The rules are expected to be finalized when Japan’s prime minister visits President Obama in Washington later this month.

Cybersecurity is increasingly dominating geopolitical relationships across Asia.

China has moved to implement a broad set of new cybersecurity rules that would require companies to implement Beijing-approved encryption and open all source code to government inspection.

Japan and the U.S. have aligned in opposition to the rules, which they argue will unfairly discriminate against foreign companies who do not want to expose customer data to the Chinese government. Security experts have widely accused China of hacking many major foreign companies operating in the region.

Elsewhere, North Korea has emerged as a burgeoning cyber power in the region, launching digital attacks on South Korean nuclear plants and Sony Pictures Entertainment in the U.S., which is owned by Japan-based Sony.

The restructured defense guidelines will help defend against instability resulting from these type of cyberattacks, as well as cyberattacks that look to knock out critical infrastructure.

The rules “detail how our two governments will continue to work together around the world and in new domains such as space and cyberspace … to ensure Japan’s peace and security,” Carter said. “And they will help us respond flexibly to the full scope of challenges we face, both in the Asia Pacific and around the globe.”

The world has changed since the U.S. and Japan last reviewed their guidelines, more than 17 years ago, Nakatani said.

“During this time in the areas surrounding Japan, the security situation has become even more severe,” he said. “And also in cyberspace and outer space, in these new fields there are various issues that we need to respond to.”