Japan is facing a persistent and increasingly sophisticated ransomware problem. In the year 2026, the National Police Agency (NPA) has detected 123 ransomware cases in the past 8 months of this year and the numbers might reach 300 or even more by the end of this 2026. And in 2025, Japanese police confirmed 226 ransomware-related cases, the second-highest annual total on record. Around 60% of the victims were small and midsize businesses, showing that ransomware is no longer a threat limited to large corporations.
One major reason for the increase is Japan’s highly connected business environment. Japanese manufacturers, automotive companies, logistics providers and suppliers increasingly depend on digital systems and interconnected networks. Cybersecurity researchers found that manufacturing accounted for the largest share of ransomware victims in Japan in 2026, followed by automotive-related businesses. When one company is compromised, attackers may also gain opportunities to disrupt suppliers and business partners.
Another factor is the growing use of double extortion. Modern ransomware gangs do not simply encrypt a company’s files and demand payment for a decryption key. They may first steal sensitive information and then threaten to publish it unless the victim pays. Japan’s National Police Agency found that double extortion accounted for 82.8% of cases in which ransom demands were confirmed in the past couple of years. This gives criminals two ways to pressure victims: disrupting their operations and threatening their reputation or confidential information.
The ransomware economy itself has also become more efficient. Criminal groups increasingly operate through ransomware-as-a-service, allowing affiliates with limited technical expertise to use sophisticated ransomware tools. The Qilin Ransomware group, for example, was particularly active against Japanese organizations in 2025 and 2026. This lowers the technical barrier for criminals and allows attacks to be conducted on a much larger scale.
In Tokyo and Osaka small and medium-sized businesses are another important target. Many smaller companies lack the cybersecurity budgets, specialist personnel and around-the-clock monitoring available to major corporations. Yet they can possess valuable business information and often have connections to larger companies. Attackers therefore have an incentive to target them as potential entry points into wider supply chains.
The problem is also being intensified by common weaknesses such as stolen credentials, phishing and vulnerable remote-access systems. Japan’s broader cybercrime environment has deteriorated as well: the National Police Agency (NPA) reported a record 2.45 million phishing cases in 2025, roughly 1.4 times the previous year’s figure.
Finally, ransomware groups are becoming more organized and adaptable. International law-enforcement operations have disrupted some major groups, but criminals frequently reorganize under new names or use different infrastructure. This makes ransomware a continuing global threat rather than a problem that can be eliminated by shutting down a single criminal organization.
Japan’s experience demonstrates that economic digitization brings new vulnerabilities alongside its benefits. Tackling the ransomware surge will require stronger protection of small businesses, better employee awareness, rapid vulnerability patching, multi-factor authentication, regular offline backups and closer cooperation between companies and law-enforcement agencies.
As Japanese businesses become increasingly digital, cybersecurity will need to become an essential part of business resilience rather than simply an IT concern.
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