Statement by Mr. AKAHORI Takeshi, Ambassador for Cyber Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, on the occasion of the UN Security Council Arria-Formula Meeting: Cyber Stability, Conflict Prevention and Capacity Building

Thank you, Mr. President.
 
Cyber security is a matter of international peace and security and requires close international cooperation.  Japan thanks Estonia and the co-hosts for organizing this Arria-Formula Meeting of the Security Council, the principal organ of the UN for the maintenance of international peace and security. Japan is committed to cooperating with UN Members for the common goal of securing a free, fair and secure cyberspace.
 
Today’s meeting is as relevant as ever. The outbreak of COVID-19 seems to be accelerating the trend of mankind’s increased reliance on ICT while accentuating the risks and the problems caused by malicious use of ICTs.  Japan cannot condone cyberattacks and malicious cyber activities which take advantage of the crisis, including, as reported, ransomware striking medical institutions and authorities, as well as DoS attacks against medical research facilities. 
   
All UN Members agree that existing international law including the UN Charter in its entirety applies in cyberspace. UN Members should renew their commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter, including respect for human rights, peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition of use of force, and also should explicitly recognize that State responsibility, the inherent right of self-defense as well as international humanitarian law apply in cyberspace. Such recognition is important for prevention of conflicts and deterrence in cyberspace.  The Security Council should be ready to act under Chapter 6 or 7 of the Charter to prevent or to respond to a grave situation involving cyber activities.
 
Norms of responsible State behavior in cyberspace also play an indispensable role to ensure the cyber stability and predictability, complementing the application of existing international law.  All UN Members have agreed to a set of norms proposed by the Governmental Group of Experts in 2015.  They must be respected.  Japan strongly supports the GGE process of which I am a member.  Japan would like to contribute to building additional layers of common understanding on the agreed content in previous GGE reports.  Japan is also actively involved in the OEWG discussions with a goal to deepen understanding of the past achievements of the GGE and the need for their implementation.
 
Confidence building measures are essential.  Japan took the initiative to establish an inter-sessional meeting on cyber security in the ARF, together with Singapore and Malaysia, where a set of concrete confidence-building measures has been adopted.
 
Finally, Japan has actively promoted cyber capacity building in Asian, Middle East, and African partners. 　One example is the Japan-U.S. Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Training for Indo-Pacific region held in Tokyo in 2018 and 2019.  Japan will continue to prioritize cyber-related capacity building.
 
I thank you, Mr. President.