Japan’s National Cybersecurity Strategy Headquarters held an emergency meeting in mid-October 2026 after more than 20 major firms, including convenience chain Lawson, car rental company Times Car, and railway operator JR East, suffered data breaches compromising tens of millions of customer records since July 2026; JR East alone had 1.67 million email addresses exposed. Officials described the situation as “extremely critical,” saying AI tools appear to have lowered the technical barrier for attackers and helped foreign actors overcome Japanese-language obstacles, though the exact role AI played in the breaches has not been independently confirmed.