Japanese and U.S. defense officials have agreed to boost their cooperation in training people to counter increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
Among the forms of cooperation discussed Tuesday in their first working-level meeting on the issue is conducting joint exercises to counter cyberattacks on government agencies and other organizations, often blamed on countries such as China and North Korea.
The joint panel, which met Monday and Tuesday, will next meet in the United States in summer.
"An important task is to upgrade the level of technology and capabilities of people in Japan through various opportunities" with the help of U.S. expertise on cybersecurity measures, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said at a news conference.
Onodera indicated the panel will discuss in the next meetings what kind of cyberattack would constitute an armed attack.
The officials said discussions by the panel about cyberattacks are also expected to be reflected in the revision of Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines, which specify role-sharing between the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military.