By Zhang Wenwen
Recently, it is reported that the Japanese Ministry of Defense has decided to expand the current cybersecurity forces of the Japan Self-Defense Force (JSDF)to 2,230 in 2023 with an increase of 1,340. Japan's expansion of cybersecurity forces under the guise of "cyber defense" aims to enhance its cyber-attack capabilities, which will not only fuel its military expansion ambitions but also pose a security threat to other countries.
"Japan is vigorously expanding its cybersecurity forces as part of its efforts to implement the new version of the National Defense Strategy. The three security documents released at the end of 2022 proposed to 'thoroughly strengthen national defense capabilities', advocated for improving the cybersecurity response capability to a level equivalent to or higher than major European and American countries, and planned to increase the number of personnel engaged in cyber defense to 4,000 by 2027," said Sun Wenzhu, an associate researcher at the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies of the China Institute of International Studies. In addition to continuing to expand the cybersecurity forces, the JSDF has also proposed measures such as establishing new institutions and strengthening international cooperation to further enhance their abilities in cyber warfare, Sun added.
The significant increase in cybersecurity forces of the JSDF paves the way for improving its virtual space operational capabilities. Xu Yongzhi, director of the Japan Security Research Office of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, believes that the main tasks of cybersecurity forces are to serve as a "central cloud", implement unified defense, and protect military information and communication infrastructure, as well as support other forces in operations and provide relevant training.
"Compared to the acquisition of offensive weapons like long-range missiles and fighter jets, military capacity building in cyberspace is relatively covert and situated in a grey area between offense and defense, as well as military and civilian domains," said Sun, "in view of the continuing influence of pacifism among Japanese people, implementing cyber capacity building is a priority in bolstering and expanding its military without triggering public opposition or international controversy."
Japan's continuous expansion of its cybersecurity forces has revealed its increasing appetite for enhancing offensive and defensive capabilities in cyber warfare. Xu believes that Japan has vigorously developed its cybersecurity forces, continuously expanding its cyber defense scope, gradually breaking through the principle of "specialized defense" and peaceful constitutional restrictions, and highlighting increasingly prominent military expansion ambitions. Furthermore, Japan is reluctant to be a "weak link" in the US alliance and intends to improve the offensive and defensive capabilities of cyber warfare to strengthen the "interoperability" of coordinated actions with the US military in the field of cybersecurity.
Japan's expansion of its cybersecurity forces will fuel its ambitions for military expansion. Experts believe that Japan's strengthening of military capabilities in the cyber domain will not only support and enhance its overall military strength and expansion but also contribute to the US-Japan alliance's goal of "achieving absolute military superiority in cyberspace". These dangerous actions will worsen the regional military imbalance and have a negative impact on regional peace and stability, which deserve great vigilance.
