Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Center) and Japanese prime minister Shinzō Abe confirmed after their meeting on Friday evening that Japan is planning to join the cyber defense center.

The director of the center, Merle Maigre, wrote in a press release that they welcome Japan's decision to join as a partner state. "This is a status that is open to countries that are not members of NATO. Japan is one of NATO's key partners outside the Euro-Atlantic area, and is also a world-renowned leader in the field of technology and cyber security."

Japan's joining the center is a sign that countries with similar values consider practical cooperation in the field of cyber defense important, Maigre added.

The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence is an international competence center, think tank and training institution accredited by NATO. Founded in 2008, it has become a significant source of expertise in the field of cyber defense for NATO and its members.

An independent international organization, the center focuses on applied research, analyses, training, and exercises in the field of cyber defense. The center organizes the world's largest and most complex international cyber defense exercise, called Locked Shields, every year.

In 2017 the center led the publication of the Tallinn Manual 2.0, seen as the most thorough and comprehensive handbook on the application of international law in cyberspace.

Belgium, Estonia, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, France, Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, the United States, and the United Kingdom are the center's sponsor countries. Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the center as partner countries. The center is currently funded and staffed by 20 countries.