March 14, 2025 Announcement of the Winners of the “Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Encouragement Award for Cybersecurity”
Since FY2017, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has been awarding individuals and organizations that have made outstanding achievements in the field of cybersecurity responses with the “Minster of Internal Affairs and Communications Encouragement Award for Cybersecurity.”
We are pleased to announce that the winners of the “Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Encouragement Award for Cybersecurity” for FY2024 have been decided.
1. Overview
In recent years, while the integration of cyberspace and real space has brought prosperity to society, the risks of malicious actors using cyberspace have also increased. Ensuring cybersecurity has become an extremely important issue from the perspective of ensuring safe and secure lives for people and the robust development of socio-economic activities.
Starting in FY2017, MIC has been accepting self-nominations or recommendations from others of individuals and groups (teams) who have made outstanding achievements in the field of cybersecurity response and are expected to continue to make contributions the future, and after deliberation to select winners from among them, has been awarding the “Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Encouragement Award for Cybersecurity" based on their track record, etc.
2．Results of the selection committee
A selection committee consisting of experts was held and based on their deliberations, the winners of the award, two individuals and two organizations, were decided. The award recipients and their achievements are summarized below.
・Individuals: 2 (honorifics omitted)
| Name | Summary of achievements |
| TSUTA Daisuke Partner, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto |
He has made significant contributions to improving Japan's cybersecurity by working across government ministries and agencies to promote cybersecurity policy、 and while taking into consideration the perspectives of organizations that have been the victims of attacks, by contributing to strengthening public-private collaborations in both legal practices and policy areas as well as serving as a bridge between academia and legal practices of legal associations. |
| YAO Takashi Manager of Security Consulting Unit. Technology Management Dept., LAC Co., Ltd. |
He has been involved for many years in organizing workshop where participants can learn about a wide range of security topics, and he has expanded his know-how in running workshop that place an emphasis on interactions between participants across the country. He has also been involved in running security events around the country that have contributed to the formation of local communities in the cybersecurity field and collaborations of industry, government, and academia, making a significant contribution to improving cybersecurity in Japan. |
・Organizations: 2 (honorifics omitted)
| Organization name | Summary of achievements |
| Hardening Project Steering Committee KADOBAYASHI Youki, OKADA Riotaro, NAKANOWATARI Takanori, FUCHIGAMI Shinichi, NEGISHI Masafumi, UENO Sen, KAWAGUCHI Hiroshi, NAKANISHI Katsuhiko, NAKATSURU You, YANAGISAWA Nobuyuki, MIYACHI Toshiyuki, YASUDA Shingo, YAMASHIRO Shigenaru, MIWA Shinsuke, SUZUKI Tomoharu, MATSUSHITA Megumi |
The organization has held the "Hardening Competition," a practical security competition that tests not only technical aspects but also business elements, for many years, which has contributed to improving cybersecurity capabilities. It has also worked to deploy its knowledge gained from competition, making a wide-ranging contribution to revitalizing local communities and raising cybersecurity awareness, and it has made a significant contribution to improving cybersecurity in Japan. |
| Usable Security Workshop (UWS) Steering Committee KANAOKA Akira, Professor, Faculty of Science, Toho University SAKAMOTO Takahito, Specially Appointed Associate Professor, Faculty of Information Science, Shizuoka University OHKI Tetsushi, Associate Professor, Faculty of Information Science, Shizuoka University |
The organization has contributed greatly to improving Japan's cybersecurity by focusing on the research and dissemination of "usable security" that is centered on the user, with an emphasis not only on technical but also on human aspects, including human error. It has also promoted the formation of a domestic research community and cross-disciplinary research exchanges by hosting study groups and workshops, and it has made efforts to train researchers. |
Contact
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Global Strategy Division, Global Strategy Bureau, MIC
TEL: +81 3 5253 5920
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