Masayoshi Son, the chairman of SoftBank Group, has sounded a grave alarm regarding the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence. He warned that the current cyber threats posed by advanced AI are the most severe national crisis Japan has faced since the arrival of the "Black Ships" in the 19th century. This striking comparison underscores the magnitude of the threat, suggesting that AI-driven hacking risks could jeopardize Japan’s national stability to the same extent that the arrival of U.S. warships in 1853 forced the end of Japan’s isolationist policy and triggered its modernization.

The urgency of this warning was highlighted during a business event in Tokyo on June 16, as reported by Bloomberg columnist Catherine Thorbecke. SoftBank, in collaboration with OpenAI, is actively introducing AI-based security and diagnostic systems to major Japanese corporations, emphasizing the critical need for proactive defense.

The catalyst for this heightened anxiety is the emergence of Anthropic’s latest AI model, "Mythos," which was unveiled in April. Mythos possesses the capability to identify "zero-day vulnerabilities"—security gaps previously unknown even to the human developers who built the systems—at unprecedented speeds. The prospect of such powerful technology being weaponized by malicious actors has ignited fears of widespread, sophisticated cyber-attacks.

Japan is uniquely vulnerable in this regard. Data from S&P and IBM reveals that in 2024, Japanese companies were the targets of 22.4% of global cyber-attacks, surpassing the U.S. (20.6%), Saudi Arabia (6.3%), and the U.K. (6.0%). This disproportionate targeting is attributed to several factors: the reliance on aging legacy IT infrastructure, the high concentration of lucrative manufacturing targets, and a chronic shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals.

Given these weaknesses, there is a mounting fear that AI-based hacking could devastate the Japanese economy. Critics have pointed out that while relying on U.S.-led AI technology may create a new form of dependency, Japan has no choice but to make swift, decisive national actions. Thorbecke suggests that Japan must leverage its position as a key ally to secure technical support from the United States to fortify its defenses.

Furthermore, the consensus among experts is that cybersecurity can no longer be treated as a trivial line item in individual corporate budgets. Instead, it must be addressed as critical national infrastructure. Thorbecke emphasizes, "Japan must treat cybersecurity with the same level of seriousness as preparing for natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis." This includes establishing shared standards, government-subsidized security frameworks, and robust information-sharing networks among corporations and the state.

The 19th-century Black Ship incident served as a "technological shock" that fundamentally altered the course of Japanese history. Today, the threat of AI-driven cyber-attacks is being interpreted as a modern equivalent. For Japan, the challenge is not merely technological but existential—a call to overhaul its national security strategy before the new "Black Ships" of the digital age leave the nation vulnerable to irrevocable change. As Japan stands at this technological crossroads, the need for a unified, national response has never been more critical.

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