Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) introduced the "Countermeasures Against Improper Use of Telecommunication Services" at the 7th General Assembly of JPAAWG, with a focus on addressing phishing emails, SMS phishing scams, malware-infected terminals, and abused communication tools. The government holds that once basic communication services such as calls, emails, and SMS are exploited by fraud rings, they will not only cause losses of personal information and funds, but also erode public trust in digital services and cashless payments. Therefore, sustained collaboration among the government, operators, platforms, and security organizations is required.
In terms of email phishing governance, the MIC is promoting the popularization of sender domain authentication technologies such as DMARC, DKIM, and SPF. These technologies help recipient systems verify whether an email is sent from a domain-authorized server, thereby reducing the risks of corporate brands being spoofed and users being directed to fake websites. Meanwhile, the government conducts awareness-raising activities through industry organizations such as the Council for Countermeasures Against Unsolicited Emails and the Phishing Countermeasures Council, and encourages enterprises to improve the recognizability of legitimate emails.
Regarding SMS phishing scams, also known as "Smishing", the MIC points out that malicious SMS typically originate from three types of channels: infected local mobile terminals, domestic SMS service providers, and overseas senders. Previously, the industry mainly relied on filtering mechanisms to block high-risk SMS, but a large number of cases are related to users' mobile phones being remotely controlled after being infected with malicious apps. In such scenarios, mobile phones may become tools for sending fraudulent SMS to other numbers without the user's knowledge.
To this end, Japan has convened the "Countermeasures Against Improper Use Working Group" since February 2024, to study measures including strengthening the identification and warning of infected terminals, facilitating users' reporting of suspicious SMS, improving industry rules for operators and SMS service providers, and raising public awareness of prevention. The working group also references the unified short code reporting mechanisms in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as overseas practices in SMS interception, terminal alerts, and industry self-regulation.
This policy direction emphasizes that it is insufficient to rely solely on users to identify fraudulent messages. More effective governance requires the integration of sender-side identification, network filtering, malicious website takedown, infected terminal alerts, corporate domain authentication, and user education, to form a full-process protection system ranging from "blocking inducement" to "reducing information theft and financial losses".
