The city of Yokosuka, home to Japan's largest naval base, is becoming a center for training cyberdefense personnel in an effort that brings together the Self-Defense Forces, the U.S. military and the private sector.
The Ground Self-Defense Force's System and Signal/Cyber School, located in the city, was recently reorganized and renamed to reflect its cyber focus. It provides specialized training to around 130 students a year.
"We must use all means at our disposal, including the cyber-related organizations in Yokosuka, to strengthen our cyberdefense capabilities," then-Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said on a March 2024 visit to the school. The urgency of the situation was underscored that year by news of a cyberattack that hit the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and resulted in data leaks.
In addition to the Maritime Self-Defense Force's fleet, the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet is based in Yokosuka.
The city is also home to the National Defense Academy, which educates SDF officers, and the GSDF's High Technical School. The academy added a cyber department in 2024, while the technical school created a specialized course on the topic in 2021.
On the private-sector side, Yokosuka Research Park includes research facilities for such telecommunications companies as NTT and KDDI. Software developer FFRI Security has an R&D center there as well.
Former defense officials and others established an association in December 2023 that serves as a bridge between private-sector cyber talent and SDF educational institutions by standardizing skills and curricula.
"It's a great location for talent training, research, and putting those skills to work," a senior SDF officer said.
The Ministry of Defense plans to sharply expand the SDF's cyber personnel to roughly 4,000 by fiscal 2027 from 2,400 or so as of fiscal 2024. It looks to bring its staffing on par with countries like the U.S. -- which has a 6,200-member cyberdefense force, according to the ministry's 2024 defense white paper -- and France, which aims to reach 5,000 in 2025.
"4,000 is the number of people we need to protect the Self-Defense Forces," a senior defense official said. "If government agencies and other organizations are included, that isn't enough people."
By comparison, China is estimated to have a 30,000-strong cyberattack force.
The Defense Ministry is trying to attract talent by setting the maximum annual salary for highly qualified candidates at around 23 million yen (about $145,500) -- the same as for chief of staff of the Joint Staff, Japan's top uniformed officer. Some in the cybersecurity industry say this is still too low.
At the same time, SDF personnel will continue to join NATO cyberdefense exercises and take other steps on international cooperation against threats.
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