23 Daily — According to itmedia.co.jp, a critical security vulnerability was discovered in the PHP programming language, leading to at least 31 municipalities in Japan temporarily suspending or limiting their official websites for system maintenance as of October 30, 2026. The patching and software updates needed to address the vulnerability are taking significant time, particularly impacting smaller local governments.

31 Municipalities Suspend or Limit Website Services Due to PHP Vulnerability

A survey by Sankei Shimbun of 1,741 municipal websites nationwide revealed that as of 9 PM on October 29, 8 cities, 17 towns, and 6 villages displayed maintenance messages and were inaccessible. The affected municipalities were mostly smaller entities, likely experiencing delays due to shortages of IT personnel and technical expertise needed for vulnerability patching. For example, Izena Village in Okinawa openly admitted their lack of IT know-how and reliance on outsourced contractors for support. Similarly, Toyo Town in Kochi Prefecture faced challenges with outdated website infrastructure and cost/time constraints for rebuilding.

Over 200 Municipalities Affected by Security Vulnerability

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged on October 21 that temporarily shutting down websites is an effective measure if rapid patch deployment is difficult. Currently, over 200 local governments have been affected to varying degrees. Given that municipal websites host important public and disaster-related information, prolonged downtime risks impacting resident services.

Editor's take: Highlighting the IT security and talent gap among local governments

This PHP security vulnerability incident exposes systemic challenges in IT security maintenance and talent cultivation in Japan’s local governments. For entrepreneurs, this reveals significant business opportunities in providing cybersecurity upgrades, ongoing technical support, and tailored solutions for the public sector. Verification can be pursued by analyzing local government IT expenditure, monitoring public tenders, or initiating direct discussions with affected municipalities. Additionally, this event underlines the importance of designing security technologies with ease of use and strong support to lower client adoption barriers.