Japan Restricts Local Government IT Procurement to Certified Products, Effectively Excluding Chinese Equipment

(Central News Agency reporter Dai Ya-chen, Tokyo, 17th) Japan will require local governments to use IT (information technology) equipment only from products certified as having low cybersecurity risks. This move is primarily aimed at Chinese-made products, with the goal of excluding equipment that could lead to information leakage risks.

Nikkei reported that the Japanese government is expected to revise relevant regulations as early as June, aiming for implementation in the summer of 2027. The scope will include computers, communication equipment, servers, and cloud services used by local governments in their operations.

Products certified under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's IoT equipment security assessment system "JC-STAR" and the National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity's cloud service security standard "ISMAP" will be allowed for procurement.

The report stated that Chinese-made equipment is considered to pose risks of information leakage or being used as a springboard for cyberattacks from abroad. Since "JC-STAR" and "ISMAP" currently do not certify Chinese-made products, Chinese-made equipment will effectively be excluded from procurement.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will set up a dedicated window to handle inquiries from local governments. Equipment already procured will be gradually replaced with certified products during updates.

The Japanese central government already adopted a policy in 2018 to procure only equipment that meets cybersecurity requirements, but local governments previously had no such restrictions.

In recent years, cyberattacks targeting local governments have continued to increase, with cases of personal data leakage and website unavailability. (Editor: Chen Hui-ping) 1150417

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