Japan Research Program

In the fall of 2022, the Weatherhead East Asian Institute (WEAI) at Columbia University inaugurated a new program directed by Professor Gerald Curtis that focuses on Japan’s evolving foreign policy strategy. Named the Japan Research Program, it incorporates and builds on activities that were previously sponsored by the Institute’s Toyota Research Program. The Japan Research Program continues to enjoy the generous support of Toyota and is currently seeking support from other corporations, foundations, and individuals for its public policy-related events and activities concerned with Japan’s relations with the United States, with other countries in the Indo-Pacific region and globally.

Read the full statement here.

Columbia University’s Japan Research Program is pleased to publish the following research by Greg Rattray and Seungmin (Helen) Lee on US-Japan cyber cooperation. It provides an important overview of developments in Japanese cybersecurity policy and actions since the adoption of a new National Security Strategy in December 2022 and offers several important recommendations for strengthening Japan’s cybersecurity defences and better integrating Japanese and US cybersecurity policies. It emphasizes the importance of Japan developing a strong security clearance system, recruiting more cyber specialists, enhancing its cyber preparedness, and increasing collaboration in cybersecurity with the United States.

The authors wish to thank US Admiral (ret.) Dennis Blair and NTT CEO Shinichi Yokohama for their advice and review of the paper and the Japan Research Program at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute and its Director, Gerald Curtis, for support for the publication of this research.

Greg Rattray is Partner and Co-Founder of Next Peak LLC and the Executive Director of the Cyber Defense Assistance Collaborative (CDAC). Greg previously served as the Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at JPMorgan Chase, founding partner and CEO of Delta Risk LLC, and the Chief Internet Security Advisor to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Over his career, Greg has worked with various Japanese organizations including JPCERT/CC, the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the IT Promotion Agency (IPA), the National Center for Incident Readiness Strategy and Cybersecurity (NISC), and the Digital Agency. Greg served in the US Air Force as a Colonel until 2007 and was the Director for Cybersecurity in the White House. A thought leader in cyber security, Greg established the concepts of Advanced Persistent Threat and Operational Collaboration. In his capacity as Senior Adjunct Researcher at Columbia University SIPA, Greg initiated the Global Cyber Dialogues including between Columbia and Keio University’s Cyber Civilization Research Center (CCRC). Greg has a B.S. degree from the USAF Academy, a M.P.P. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

Seungmin (Helen) Lee is a Cyber Risk Analyst with Next Peak and a Program Associate with Cyber Defense Assistance Collaborative (CDAC). As a cyber risk analyst, Helen assists with cybersecurity risk and management consulting, and as a program associate at CDAC, she leads the blue force tracker initiative, recording and analyzing international technological defense assistance provided to Ukraine since the onset of the war in 2022. She received her MIA at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in May 2022 and B.A. at Columbia College in May 2021. Helen is fluent in English, Korean, Spanish, Japanese and proficient in Chinese.