Japan to toughen penalties for defense tech data leak

Japan's Cabinet has approved a bill designed to support domestic defense equipment producers and tighten up the management of important information on their products, Report informs referring to Kyodo News.

The bill stipulates that the government will set up frameworks and subsidy systems to provide incentives for Japanese defense equipment firms to diversify their supply chains and beef up their cybersecurity.

The legislation also prescribes new criminal penalties, with fines of up to 500,000 yen ($3,800) or imprisonment for up to one year for leaking designated secrets, including those regarding defense equipment.

Under the envisaged law, the government plans to give financial aid to companies that introduce facilities for streamlining their manufacturing processes and to enterprises that want to take over businesses from others.

In a bid to facilitate Japanese defense exports in the future, the bill proposes that a foundation be established to offer subsidies for firms to help them meet requests for specification changes on their products when selling defense equipment to other countries.