Saturday morning’s Asahi wrote that it has learned from several GOJ sources that the GOJ is planning to develop new guidelines for procurement of telecommunications equipment as part of its measures to prevent cyberattacks and information leaks. The paper speculated that the GOJ is planning to exclude products manufactured by Chinese telecommunications equipment giants Huawei Technologies and ZTE from government procurement. Speculating that the Trump administration has asked Japan and other allies not to use Huawei products because of national security concerns, the paper conjectured that Japan will develop the new guidelines in line with U.S. policies. The paper added that the GOJ will approve the decision to develop the new guidelines at a meeting of its cybersecurity taskforce to be held as early as Monday with the goal of implementing them starting in fiscal 2019.

Saturday morning’s Mainichi and Sankei ran similar stories claiming that the GOJ has decided not to procure products manufactured by Huawei and other Chinese telecommunications equipment companies for use by central government agencies and the SDF. Sankei quoted Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga as telling reporters on Friday that the government will continue to make efforts to maintain cybersecurity from various perspectives.

Saturday morning’s Yomiuri wrote that a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry told a regular press briefing on Friday that it has been confirmed that neither the ministry nor the SDF is currently using Huawei or ZTE products.