Japan-U.S. Security Treaty to Cover Cyberattacks

April 20, 2019

Washington- Foreign and defense ministers of Japan and the United States confirmed on Friday that Article 5 of the two countries' security treaty, which sets out Washington's obligations to defend territories under Japanese jurisdiction, could apply to cyberattacks against Japan.

This was clarified for the first time, in a joint statement adopted at so-called two-plus-two security talks held among the ministers in Washington on the day.

The ministers affirmed that "a cyberattack could, in certain circumstances, constitute an armed attack for the purpose of Article 5" of the security treaty, the statement said, adding that a decision as to whether a cyberattack would be covered by the article will be made "on a case-by-case basis, and through close consultations" between the two countries.

While refraining from citing specific countries, the statement implicitly expressed concerns over rapid technological progress made by China and Russia in the new fields. "Malicious cyber activity presents an increasing threat to the security and prosperity of both the United States and Japan," it said.

Japan-U.S. collaboration in cross-domain operations involving the conventional air, ground and maritime defense fields, and the new domains is one of "core objectives" to advance the two nations' defense relationship, the statement added.

It also said that the ministers highlighted space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum as priority areas to better prepare the Japan-U.S. alliance for cross-domain operations.

The Japan-U.S. two-plus-two meeting was the first since August 2017. From Japan, Foreign Minister Taro Kono and Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya took part in the meeting. U.S. participants were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

At a joint press conference after the meeting, Pompeo criticized China, which has been boosting activities in cyberspace and other fields.

Pompeo said that he and Shanahan shared their concerns with Japan that "geopolitical competition and coercive attempts to undermine international rules, norms and institutions--specially from China--present challenges to the alliance and to continued peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific."

Kono said that Japan and the United States will further strengthen their alliance by enhancing bilateral cooperation, including in the new fields.

The Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines that were revised in April 2015 only said that "the United States will provide appropriate support to Japan" in dealing with cyberattacks against the Asian ally.

This time, the two countries more clearly showed their intention to work together by saying that Article 5 of the security treaty could apply to cyberattacks against Japan.

Apparently referring to China, the two-plus-two joint statement expressed the ministers' "serious concern" over "unilateral coercive attempts to alter the status quo" in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

Tokyo and Washington also reconfirmed that the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea are covered by Article 5 of the security treaty. The islands are claimed by China.

The joint statement stressed a policy of supporting Southeast Asian countries in a bid to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

The foreign and defense ministers welcomed the diplomatic efforts by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump "to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

The ministers stressed the need to realize at an early time the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station in Ginowan in Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, to the Henoko coastal district in Nago, another Okinawa city. The plan is "the only solution" that avoids the continued use of the Futenma base, they said in the statement.

In an apparent reference to a case in which a U.S. Navy sailor stabbed a Japanese woman to death in the Okinawa town of Chatan earlier this month, Kono said it is necessary to reduce the burden on local residents by moving step by step to prevent accidents and other incidents involving U.S. servicemen in Okinawa and deal with issues related to the bilateral status of forces agreement. Jiji Press