MAJOR JAPANESE COMPANIES DISCLOSE SEPARATE CYBERATTACKS IMPACTING MILLIONS OF CUSTOMERS AND CORPORATE SYSTEMS

TOKYO, Japan — Several major Japanese companies have disclosed separate cybersecurity incidents over the past two weeks involving unauthorized access, data breaches, and ransomware attacks affecting millions of customers and multiple corporate networks across the insurance, telecommunications, manufacturing, and beverage sectors.

While the incidents occurred during a relatively short period, investigators have not indicated that the attacks are connected or attributable to the same threat actor. Each organization continues to investigate the scope of the intrusions with assistance from law enforcement and cybersecurity professionals.

The largest reported breach involved Aflac Life Insurance Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of the U.S.-based insurance company, which disclosed that attackers compromised portions of its customer portal and internal systems.

According to the company, approximately 4.38 million policyholders had personal information exposed during the intrusion. The compromised information includes customer names, addresses, and telephone numbers. Company officials also reported that approximately 230,000 policyholders had premium payment account information exposed.

Following the discovery of the intrusion, Aflac Japan temporarily suspended portions of its affected systems while continuing to process insurance claims and customer service requests through alternative channels, including call centers. The company stated that the incident was limited to its Japanese operations and did not affect systems supporting its U.S. business.

Aflac has notified Japanese law enforcement and cybersecurity authorities and has also filed a disclosure with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As of publication, the company has not identified the individuals or group responsible for the attack.

Another incident involved Sapporo Holdings, which disclosed suspected unauthorized access affecting two overseas subsidiaries: Pokka, a Singapore-based food and beverage company, and Sleeman Breweries in Canada.

Company officials reported detecting suspicious network activity consistent with a cyberattack before isolating affected systems while investigators determine whether any corporate or customer data was accessed or removed. Sapporo stated that its domestic operations in Japan have not been impacted and has not released additional information regarding the ongoing investigation.

The incident follows previous cybersecurity challenges within Japan’s brewing industry, highlighting the growing interest cybercriminals have shown in manufacturing and food production companies whose operations depend heavily on continuous production and logistics.

Industrial manufacturer Nidec Corporation also disclosed a cybersecurity incident involving its Taiwanese subsidiary, Nidec Chaun Choung Technology, after attackers compromised part of the subsidiary’s network infrastructure.

The company acknowledged that information may have been exposed but stated that investigators have not confirmed whether confidential corporate information or personal data has been publicly released.

Following the disclosure, the ransomware group BlackField claimed responsibility for the attack, alleging it had stolen more than two terabytes of company data, including employee records, financial documents, procurement information, manufacturing data, legal records, and information technology files. The group reportedly demanded a $2 million ransom.

Nidec has not confirmed the group’s claims or indicated whether it has communicated with the attackers. Company officials stated that the affected subsidiary operates on an independent network, limiting the incident’s impact on the broader corporate environment.

In a separate cybersecurity incident, KDDI Corporation, one of Japan’s largest telecommunications providers, disclosed that attackers gained unauthorized access to an email system serving five Japanese internet service providers after exploiting a vulnerability in third-party software.

According to KDDI, the affected providers include STNet, JCOM, Chubu Telecommunications, NIFTY, and BIGLOBE.

The company stated that security personnel detected and blocked the intrusion shortly after identifying suspicious activity, isolated the affected systems, identified the apparent attack vector, and implemented additional security measures to prevent further unauthorized access.

KDDI warned that customer email addresses and passwords may have been compromised during the incident but has not disclosed the total number of affected users.

The incidents underscore the continuing rise in cyber threats targeting organizations responsible for managing large volumes of sensitive customer information and critical business operations. Insurance companies, manufacturers, telecommunications providers, and consumer goods companies remain frequent targets because they maintain extensive personal data, financial records, intellectual property, and operational technology systems that can provide significant financial value to cybercriminals.

TRJ Cybersecurity and other cybersecurity experts continue encouraging organizations to implement multi-factor authentication, timely vulnerability management, continuous network monitoring, employee security awareness training, endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions, and comprehensive incident response planning to reduce the risk posed by increasingly sophisticated cyber threats targeting both internet-facing services and internal enterprise infrastructure.

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