ABSTRACT
Japan and the EU and its member states have seen an increase in cybercrimes and have recognised that this is a field where the EU and Japan have to intensify and deepen their cooperation. Over the last ten years, they have included cybersecurity more broadly, but also the fight against cybercrimes specifically, as areas of interest, in various bilateral exchange instruments. The latest step is the EU–Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement, which lists cyberspace and information technology and combatting cybercrime as target areas. This article will take a critical look at the development of EU–Japan political, technical, and legal cooperation in response to cybercrime over the last decade. It shows that these recent changes have probably less impact in terms of direct legal and policing cooperation, but more in terms of strengthening international norms and cyber capacity building.
