Japan Media Review Update: August 9, 2004

JMR Staff (Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California)

Review
The following reviews are posted at: http://www.japanmediareview.com/japan/digest/digest.php

Government Sites Hit in Cyber Attacks
From the Daily Yomiuri: Eight Japanese governmental Web sites became victims of attacks by hackers between Sunday and Tuesday. According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda, the attacks were caused by the transmission of huge volumes of data to computer servers at governmental institutions. The attacks prevented people from accessing government sites, but did not lead to data loss. The targeted institutions included the Prime Minister's Office, the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Agency, the Finance Ministry, and the Fair Trade Commission. Although the attackers have not yet been identified, the Cabinet Secretariat IT Security Office said a Chinese Internet bulletin board warned of cyber attacks this month.
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori

Online Protection for Teen Crime Suspects Sought
From the Mainichi Daily News: The government could ask Web hosting companies to remove names and photos of underage crime suspects from their sites, if an industry panel's recommendation is approved. Under the proposal, the Justice Ministry will be able to formally demand Internet service providers eliminate identifying information about juvenile criminal suspects from their sites. The demand would have no legal authority, but ISPs would be required to provide an explanation if they refuse to comply. The Justice Ministry has requested these guidelines because of a rapid increase in the number of messages posted on the Internet containing information about children taken into custody for brutal crimes. For example, after the popular Internet bulletin board Channel 2 shared the name and photos of a junior high school student who killed in infant in Nagasaki in July 2003, the Justice Ministry requested removal of such information more than 1,100 times after the suspect was taken into custody.
-- By Japan Media Review Associate Editor Keiko Mori