- Ishiba Cabinet’s Approval Rating Drops By 2 Points
According to an NHK opinion poll conducted over three days starting May 9, targeting people aged 18 and older across Japan:
33% of respondents said they "support" the Ishiba Cabinet, a decrease of 2 percentage points compared to the April survey.
Meanwhile, 48% said they "do not support" the Cabinet, an increase of 3 percentage points.
When asked whether they were concerned about the impact of the U.S. Trump administration’s tariff measures on the Japanese economy, 43% responded "very concerned", 36% responded "somewhat concerned", 11% said they were "not very concerned" and 5% said they were "not concerned at all."
When asked whether they would refer to information from social media and video platforms such as X, YouTube, and TikTok when deciding whom to vote for in this summer’s House of Councillors election:
6% said they would "heavily refer to them"
23% said they would "somewhat refer to them"
28% said they would "not refer to them much"
36% said they would "not refer to them at all"
- Japan To Promote “Japan-U.S. Shipbuilding Golden Era Plan” As Part Of Tarriff Negotiations
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, it has been revealed that the Japanese government proposed a cooperation plan in the shipbuilding sector during tariff negotiations with the Trump administration.
The plan is believed to focus on technical cooperation and investment from Japan into the U.S. shipbuilding industry, as well as collaboration in the field of icebreakers.
The Japanese government proposed the formulation of a 'Japan-U.S. Shipbuilding Golden Era Plan.'
The Trump administration places importance on the shipbuilding industry from two perspectives: revitalizing domestic industry and countering China’s maritime expansion as a matter of national security.
In the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations, working-level discussions are being used to refine key issues, with a third ministerial meeting scheduled to take place sometime after mid-May.
The Japanese government has consistently pushed for a review of a series of measures, including those related to automobiles and steel/aluminum, and expanding investment in the United States has also become a bargaining point.
3. JFY2024’s Travel Surplus Jumped To Match Digital Deficit
According to the preliminary 2024 balance of payments statistics for Japan released by the Ministry of Finance on May 12, the current account balance — which reflects the overall transactions with foreign countries — recorded a surplus of 30.3771 trillion yen.
This represents a 16% increase from the previous fiscal year, setting a record high for the second consecutive year.
Among the components, the travel balance posted a surplus of 6.6864 trillion yen, also reaching a record high for the second year in a row.
Driven by the weaker yen, spending by inbound tourists increased by 43%, while spending by Japanese travelers overseas rose by only 10%.
The balance of payments for industrial property rights and similar royalties — such as patent fees — recorded a surplus of 4.9345 trillion yen, which was below the travel surplus.
On the other hand, the overall services balance, heavily impacted by the so-called “digital deficit” due to increased spending on overseas cloud services and similar items, recorded a deficit of 6.9651 trillion yen.
4. Japan To Conduct An Offshore Firing Test Of Railgun
Japan's Ministry of Defense has decided to soon conduct an offshore test firing using a large prototype of the latest weapon, the railgun (electromagnetic cannon), which uses electrical energy instead of gunpowder to launch projectiles at high speed.
The railgun is considered effective for intercepting hypersonic weapons being developed by China and North Korea, and the goal is to make it operational with deployment on Aegis-equipped vessels in mind.
Research on the railgun began in fiscal 2016, and in the summer of 2023, a small prototype was mounted on the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s test ship Asuka for a test firing at sea.
This time, a larger prototype—approximately 6 meters in length and weighing around 8 tons, designed with actual combat in mind—will be loaded onto the Asuka.
This will be the first offshore test with a prototype close to full scale, aiming to verify whether it can accurately hit its targets.
In the future, the plan is to deploy the railgun on Aegis-equipped vessels and new-generation destroyers.
However, at the current stage, several challenges remain, such as the rail being worn down by friction with the projectiles, which hampers continuous firing and lowers the launch velocity.
China is also accelerating its development of railguns.
According to the Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper South China Morning Post, China’s Naval University of Engineering revealed in a paper published in November 2023 that it had successfully fired 120 projectiles.
The paper stated that 'China is leading the world' in this field.
5. Japan To Establish A New Think Tank For Economic Security
According to Yomiuri Shimbun, the Japanese government has begun coordination toward establishing a new think tank dedicated to conducting comprehensive research and analysis on economic security.
The National Security Secretariat will serve as the central command, working in collaboration with private-sector entities and relevant ministries and agencies to enhance Japan’s capabilities in information gathering and analysis related to economic security.
On the 13th, the government presented the proposal during a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
According to the proposal, the think tank will assess concrete risks based on the latest threat trends—such as disruptions in the supply of critical goods like semiconductors and electricity—and encourage municipalities and private companies to take appropriate measures.
The think tank will also be responsible for researching and analyzing vulnerabilities in the supply chains of essential goods.
A “public-private council” will be established to share this information with private businesses and to collect feedback.
The government also aims to strengthen collaboration with government-affiliated think tanks and international organizations from allied and like-minded countries.
With changes in the international landscape, analyzing risks that domestic industries face in terms of economic security and implementing countermeasures has become an urgent priority.
Separately, the Cabinet Office plans to launch the Strategic Center for Advanced Technology (tentative name) in fiscal 2026 to provide policy recommendations related to cutting-edge technologies.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has already been working to advance public-private cooperation by bringing in private-sector experts with knowledge of economic security.
The new think tank is expected to consolidate such economic security-related functions within the government, with a future integration with the Strategic Center also under consideration.
6. Japan To Double The Number Of Nationally Certified Cybersecurity Professionals
The Japanese government has decided to double the number of nationally certified cybersecurity professionals capable of formulating defense strategies to 50,000 by 2030, in response to the increasing number of cyberattacks targeting domestic companies and government agencies.
To achieve this, the government will reduce the financial burden required to maintain certification and expand opportunities for certified individuals to work within companies.
With cyberattacks growing each year, the public and private sectors will collaborate to strengthen Japan’s economic security framework.
METI is expected to present a final proposal on cybersecurity talent development in an upcoming expert panel meeting.
The government considers individuals holding the national certification of Registered Information Security Specialist (introduced in 2016) as professional cybersecurity experts.
Currently, there are only about 24,000 certified individuals, with an estimated shortfall of 110,000.
These specialists typically work under contracts with companies and are responsible for developing defense measures and responding to incidents.
Since up-to-date knowledge and skills are essential, certification must be renewed every three years through practical training and other requirements.
However, the cost of renewal training exceeds 100,000 yen per session, which has become a major barrier to increasing the number of certified professionals.
To achieve the goal of reaching 50,000 certified professionals, the government will relax renewal requirements starting in fiscal 2026.
If a specialist is already working in a relevant corporate role, they will be exempted from the practical training requirement, thereby reducing the burden.
In fiscal 2025, the government also plans to create a registry listing certified individuals, specifying their areas of expertise and preferred work locations to facilitate job matching with companies.
From fiscal 2026 onward, the government will introduce an evaluation system for corporate cybersecurity measures.
Meeting certain standards will become a requirement for receiving government subsidies.
This is expected to increase the necessity for companies to secure certified professionals and promote a more favorable environment for contracting them.
Cyberattack damage within Japan continues to increase each year.
The government is moving forward with efforts to strengthen its response, and a bill related to 'proactive cyber defense'—which aims to prevent serious cyberattacks before they occur—is expected to pass in the current Diet session.