Version 27.0, February 2013
© Bert-Jaap Koops **Portions © Analog Devices, Inc. **
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International.
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[Japan]{#ja} [Sources 1, 3, 5]
Export regulations are designed to implement the (pre-December 1998) Wassenaar Arrangement, including the General Software Note. Decisions are made on an individual basis. Japan seems to have tightened its export controls in October 1996 (allegedly under US pressure), establishing that businesses acquire approval for a cryptography export order larger than 50,000 yen. In July 2000, MITI announced its intention to mitigate the export controls for encryption software for Internet use.
None.
Japan sees encryption as an important tool for establishing information security in electronic commerce. Although initially it did not consider encryption a threat to law enforcement or national security, Japan's attitude seems to have shifted somewhat; the government has not (yet) decided which approach to choose. See Stewart A. Baker's article Japan Enters the Crypto Wars.
Japan's proposed wiretap law contains a reference to cryptography: if encryption renders partial eavesdropping or wiretapping difficult, law-enforcement is allowed to record all communications taking place.
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) (now called METI) published a draft policy paper "Towards the Age of the Digital Economy" in May 1997. For ensuring security, encryption and authentication technologies should be sophisticated through market competition. Development of cryptography and experiments of projects should be promoted, and network users should be provided with much more information about these, according to the draft.
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