[Event report] Pacific Forum (cohosted by KGRI) "US and Japanese Perspectives on Cybersecurity and Undersea Cables" (held on October 22, 2020)
2020.11.16On Thursday, October 22, 2020, a public seminar by the Pacific Forum (cohosted by KGRI), "US and Japanese Perspectives on Cybersecurity and Undersea Cables," was held online. This seminar, which was held for undergraduate and graduate students, was conducted in a webinar format and saw participation by over 100 people.
The first lecture was given by Ms. Christina Ayiotis, an American cyberstrategist and consultant. She participated online from New York, and pointed out in her talk about the increasing importance of internet governance.
The second lecturer was Ms. Mihoko Matsubara, the chief cybersecurity strategist of NTT Corporation. She spoke of the importance of Japan-US-Australia cooperation in cybersecurity as mobile phones develop from 4G to 5G.
The final lecture was given by Professor Motohiro Tsuchiya of the Graduate School of Media and Governance, who is also a KGRI senior researcher, and he talked about the development of undersea cables as the foundation of the internet that connects the globe as well as their vulnerabilities.
During the Q&A session, the importance of human resource development as well as ways to protect key infrastructure were discussed. In a questionnaire set by the hosts to the participants, 9% responded "yes" to the question "do you think that cooperation in cybersecurity between Japan and the US can respond to the increasing sophistication and scale of cyberthreats?" while 46% said "No" and 44% answered "I don't know." Furthermore, to the question "in the Japan-US alliance, which of the two countries do you think should be responsible for protecting the undersea digital infrastructure in East Asia?" 9% replied "the US," 13% answered "Japan," and 78% responded "both Japan and the US," confirming the need for cooperation between Japan and the US.
[Event Information]
21st Century Technologies, Geopolitics, and the US-Japan Alliance: US and Japanese Perspectives on Cybersecurity and Undersea Cables (October 22, 2020)
