According to the National Police Agency, suspicious access averaged 13,687 incidents per day in the first half of 2026, up 51% from the same period a year earlier. Ransomware incidents also reached a record 123 for a half-year period, increasing the risk of customer data breaches, particularly at department stores.
Suspicious access detected by National Police Agency monitoring sensors averaged 13,687 incidents per day from January through June 2026, up 51% from the same period a year earlier, heightening concerns about damage from cyberattacks. Reported ransomware incidents totaled 123, a record high for a half-year period.
The retail industry, particularly department stores, has a customer base centered on affluent consumers, and a customer data breach would be a serious loss of an important asset: trust. Many attacks involve searching for vulnerable systems and infiltrating them. Once inside, the threat is difficult to contain and could result in the damage spreading.
J. Front Retailing operates Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores and PARCO, and has a large customer base of approximately 4.48 million group ID customers as of the end of August 2025. The company has stated that it will recruit an IT and digital officer from outside the group and use JFR-CSIRT to strengthen defenses and countermeasures across the group.
President Ono Keiichi (小野 圭一) has emphasized the need to strengthen not only defenses but also incident response and damage mitigation. In response to advances in AI, he indicated that the company plans to review its system design on the assumption that defenses may be breached.