Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has put out for public comment a draft revision of the policy that governs economic-security support for storage batteries, and the headline change is cybersecurity. The ministry's Battery Industry Office says the update will add "items requiring cybersecurity response," alongside provisions tied to a recent amendment of the Economic Security Promotion Law (Act No. 43 of 2022) and a general tidy-up of wording across the roughly 34-page document.
What the policy already covers
The stable-supply policy, first issued in January 2023 and last revised in March 2024, sits under Article 8 of the Economic Security law and sets the terms for certifying "supply confirmation plans" from companies making lithium-ion batteries, the materials that go into them (cathodes, anodes, electrolyte, separators), or the equipment used to manufacture them. Certified projects can draw on subsidies administered through NEDO, Japan's clean-energy technology agency, but in exchange must meet a checklist that already touches cybersecurity: current rules ask certified suppliers to follow METI and IPA's Cybersecurity Management Guidelines and, for makers of stationary storage systems, to check and address software vulnerabilities in control systems. A dedicated chapter section on cybersecurity assurance also already exists in the current text.
What the draft would change
The public notice does not spell out the new cybersecurity language line by line, but it frames the change as adding requirements on top of that existing, largely guideline-based framework, in response to the amended Economic Security law. Coupled with the wording harmonization the ministry describes, the revision reads as an effort to make cybersecurity a firmer condition of certification rather than a recommendation, though the exact scope, and whether it extends beyond stationary systems to vehicle batteries and upstream materials producers, is not detailed in the excerpt made available for comment.
Who should pay attention, and by when
Anyone already holding, or applying for, a certified supply confirmation plan for batteries, battery materials or battery manufacturing equipment has a direct stake in how the cybersecurity bar moves, since certification is the gateway to NEDO funding under the scheme. Comments are due by October 5, 2026, and must be submitted in Japanese on the prescribed form, either through the e-Gov portal, by post, or by email to the Battery Industry Office, which is handling case number 595320021. The draft and the current policy text are both posted on e-Gov for review.
The notice makes clear this is a proposal, not a final rule: the ministry is soliciting feedback precisely because the cybersecurity provisions have not yet been locked in, and companies with concerns about compliance burden or scope can raise them before the comment period closes on October 5.