With attention on tariff negotiations, Japan’s upper house elections, and Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru’s resignation, Japan’s enactment of Active Cyber Defense (ACD) legislation in May 2025, although an overdue and a welcome move, has remained under the radar. Japan has previously been described as minor league player and assigned the lowest tier in cyber defense. As restrictions on data collection of foreign sources have been lifted, Japan has also been able to expand cyber cooperation with NATO. However, Japan had been less exposed to influence operations due the language barriers and difficulties in navigating Japan’s digital space. Thus, the country is yet to establish its cyber-military foundation, and – more importantly – it still lacks a robust cyber intelligence system, including signals intelligence (SIGINT).