An interim report from Japan’s National Cyber Command Office (NCO) has concluded that its government agencies must transition to post-quantum cryptography by 2035.
It’s a timeline that reflects both the urgency of a smooth migration, and crucially, an alignment with international partners, many of which have already coalesced on 2035 as the deadline for complete transition to PQC. Indeed, the US, European Union, UK and Canada have all announced policies that aim to complete PQC transition within the decade, in line with NIST-standardization advancing multiple FIPS-recognized schemes.
The report highlights the importance of prioritization, especially given the immediate threat of HNDL attacks, and it sets out the ongoing work of CRYPTREC in determining the technical basis for cryptographic measures used by Japanese government agencies – especially when it comes to the decommissioning of old ciphers, based on international trends.
Interestingly, the NCO report also details some of the technical challenges involved in migration, and recommends both cryptographic agility and the use of hybrid PQ/T schemes, combining PQC concurrently with traditional cryptographic techniques. At PQShield, these are strategies that tie in neatly with our own approach – designing solutions that are optimized for flexibility, but also aiming for low footprint and high security. We’re also working within the Japanese ecosystem as part of our collaboration with AIST, and our participation with NEDO helps advance the state of PQC in Japan, in line with the NCO’s strategy.
As with other mandates, a focus on government agencies naturally cascades into critical infrastructure operators, and therefore supply chains and private businesses. The shift to PQC is essentially the process of upgrading the foundations of such critical infrastructure with long-term national security in view; it’s a collaborative effort, leading to widespread change. It’s important to note that collaboration is a key part of this process, and in order to guide this shift, the relevant agencies in Japan plan to work on a detailed implementation roadmap in FY26, co-ordinating the necessary system upgrades and support measures, leading to a strategic path for transition.
Link to Press Release