The Cabinet approved two bills on "active" cyberdefense security Friday, paving the way for Japan to acquire preemptive capability against cyberattacks — often referred to as the “Achilles’ heel” of Japan’s defense system.

The new measures aim to strengthen cooperation and facilitate information-sharing between public and private actors in the cyber realm, allowing the government to acquire information traveling through Japan and infiltrate the sources of cyberattacks in order to neutralize them.

A recent spike in cyberattacks — which originate from foreign sources in 99% of cases, according to government data — has prompted legislative action with the goal of setting a framework to protect critical infrastructure, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters Friday.

“We believe that improving our capabilities to respond to cyberattacks is an increasingly urgent issue, given the current security environment,” Hayashi said.

If approved, the bills would grant the government greater powers to safeguard critical infrastructure and require private-sector entities to report the acquisition of critical infrastructure and potential cyberattacks to the authorities. Information would be shared with a group of relevant stakeholders.

The number of entities expected to become the target of the new measures currently hovers around 200, government officials said. Those who leak cyberdefense-related secrets will be sentenced to prison for up to two years, or fined up to ¥1 million ($6,600). Penalties for officials leaking intelligence information will be even harsher, at up to four years in prison.

In the event of an attack, the police will intervene first, although only after obtaining the green light from an independent third-party committee tasked with checking the government’s use and analysis of sensitive information and reporting to parliament. The Self-Defense Forces will take further measures in case of attacks seen as targeting something particularly sensitive or those deemed to be perpetrated by an organization with the backing of a foreign country.

In order to streamline and promote cyberdefense operations, a body currently under the chief cabinet secretary will be placed under the direct supervision of the prime minister. An ad hoc post of vice-minister for cyber security will also be established.

All major opposition parties — such as the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and the Democratic Party for the People — have voiced their support for additional legislation on active cyberdefense. As such, the bill is not expected to encounter major obstacles in parliament.

“We are in favor of legislation on cybersecurity, but we will carefully examine the content of the bill,” CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda told a news conference Friday.

“There are various issues, including how to deal with freedom of communication. We want to discuss how these issues can be overcome,” Noda said, referring to the Constitution, which enshrines the secrecy of any means of communication and could potentially limit the government’s ability to collect information.

Hayashi dismissed such concerns, saying that the privacy of communications and the establishment of an independent body were taken into consideration in the creation of the bills.

The bills were submitted to parliament on Friday afternoon and will be the subject of deliberation after the approval of the budget for the next fiscal year. For the most part, they would take effect within 18 months of the day of approval.