A single phrase — 情報漏えい (jōhō rōei), “data breach” — was enough to make passersby stop and turn around at a security trade show in Chiba. From October 21 to 23, the Information Security Expo opened at Makuhari Messe as part of Japan IT Week Autumn 2026, while Japanese companies were continuing to announce cases of 不正アクセス (fusei akusesu), unauthorized access, and information leaks.
According to ITmedia, exhibitors said they began noticing changes in customer interest and in the kinds of 問い合わせ (toiawase), inquiries, they received from late September onward. On the first day of the event, security booths were especially crowded compared with other areas such as marketing support and back-office services.
Security booths drew stronger attention
A representative from Josys, based in Minato, Tokyo, said many visitors were already walking past but turned back when they heard words like 情報漏えい (jōhō rōei) or “credentials.” The company was showing Josys TEM, a service that detects and responds to leaks of employee account information. In response to repeated unauthorized-access cases, it was also stressing the importance of ダークウェブ (dākuwebu), dark web, monitoring.
NTT East Japan also said both visitor numbers and visitor interest seemed higher. Its booth featured a “privacy-protected storage” service that automatically detects sensitive information in files and applies マスキング (masukingu), masking, and a “Generative AI Privacy Guard” that detects personal information in data given to generative AI and removes it before input. The company had exhibited the previous year too, but said this year brought more visitors to the booth.
Companies are asking more questions, and executives are involved
The increase was not limited to the exhibition hall. ITmedia spoke with GMO Pepabo, which was exhibiting its network security support service “Lolipop! Zero Trust Link by GMO Pepabo,” and Assured, a Shibuya-based company that evaluates the safety of クラウド (kuraudo), cloud, services. Both said the number of inquiries had risen sharply since late September, when announcements of unauthorized-access cases began increasing.
Those two companies also saw a change in who was asking. In the past, most consultations came from information systems staff, but now more inquiries are coming on instructions from the 経営層 (keieisō), executive management, or directly from executives themselves.
According to both companies, more customers are now saying they have been told to strengthen security but do not know where to begin. Many seem to understand that action is necessary, even though they are still searching for a concrete way to move forward.
Learn Japanese from This Article
Vocabulary
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 情報漏えい | jōhō rōei | information leak; data breach |
| 不正アクセス | fusei akusesu | unauthorized access |
| 問い合わせ | toiawase | inquiry; contact; question from a customer |
| 経営層 | keieisō | management; executive layer |
| 出展 | shutten | exhibition; exhibiting at a trade show |
| クラウド | kuraudo | cloud; cloud computing |
| マスキング | masukingu | masking; hiding sensitive data |
| ダークウェブ | dākuwebu | dark web |
Grammar Spotlight
〜ものの: although; even though
Pattern: Plain form + ものの
From the article: セキュリティを強化するよう指示されたものの、何から手を付ければいいか分からない……といった相談も増えたと2社。 sekyuriti o kyōka suru yō shiji sareta mono no, nani kara te o tsukereba ii ka wakaranai … to itta sōdan mo fueta to nisha. The two companies said they were also getting more consultations from people who had been told to strengthen security, although they did not know where to start.
Example: 必要性は分かっているものの、予算が足りない。 hitsuyōsei wa wakatte iru mono no, yosan ga tarinai. Although we understand the need, the budget is not enough.
Example: 対策を考えたものの、まだ実行していない。 taisaku o kangaeta mono no, mada jikkō shite inai. Although we came up with a countermeasure, we have not carried it out yet.
Use 〜ものの when you want to show contrast in a slightly formal written style.
Useful Expressions
振り返る (furikaeru) — to turn around; look back 「情報漏えい」の一言で振り返る。 “jōhō rōei” no hitokoto de furikaeru. They turn around at the single phrase “data breach.”
何から手を付ければいいか分からない (nani kara te o tsukereba ii ka wakaranai) — not know where to start セキュリティ対策は必要だが、何から手を付ければいいか分からない。 sekyuriti taisaku wa hitsuyō da ga, nani kara te o tsukereba ii ka wakaranai. Security measures are necessary, but we do not know where to start.
関心が高まる (kanshin ga takamaru) — interest increases 来場者の関心が高まっている。 raijōsha no kanshin ga takamatte iru. Visitors’ interest is increasing.
これからもよろしくお願いします。 Kore kara mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.