Japan: e-Tax suspended after a “suspicious communication”, restored on 5 November, with no leak of taxpayer data
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- e-Tax was unavailable from midday on 4 November so that a “suspicious communication” could be checked.
- The Tax Agency announced the resumption on 5 November at 11:00 and said no taxpayer data had leaked.
- Users criticised the late announcement and the fact that they could not do their year-end adjustment.
- The nature of the suspicious communication and the cause could not be verified.
In this article
Timeline
According to ITmedia NEWS (5 November, 6:44, updated 12:40), e-Tax became unavailable around midday on 4 November, with reports of unannounced emergency maintenance. The National Tax Agency said it had detected a “suspicious communication” that day and was carrying out equipment maintenance to check it. The announcement, made on X, only came in the evening; the two articles consulted give different times (around 7 pm or around 8 pm). On 5 November at 11:00 the Agency announced that e-Tax had resumed.
The administration’s version and reactions
The Agency says it has finished the necessary measures and safety checks, and confirmed that no taxpayer information leaked. It promises to keep providing a stable and secure service. The article reports this claim without independent verification. Users criticised the delay of the announcement and said they could not do their “year-end adjustment” (年末調整).
Points not verified
The articles do not specify the nature of the suspicious communication, the scope and method of the checks, or the cause. A link with the Docomo incident of the same day (news-jp-20261105-docomo-5g-sa-my-docomo-acces-non-autorise) could not be verified. No details are given about any filing or payment deadlines affected.
Learn the grammar
French grammar
Learn sentence patterns and usage from the article’s own sentences.
01Negation and its scope
ne / n’ … pas · ne … plus
L’annonce, faite sur X, n’est venue qu’en soirée ; les deux articles consultés donnent des heures différentes (vers 19 h ou vers 20 h).Key pointsNormally ne and pas wrap the verb. Before a vowel, ne becomes n’. Check which part of the sentence the negation covers. Ne … plus means “no longer”.
02Citing a source with selon
selon + noun / organisation
Selon ITmedia NEWS (5 novembre, 6 h 44, mis à jour à 12 h 40), e-Tax est devenu inaccessible vers midi le 4 novembre, avec des signalements de maintenance d’urgence non annoncée.Key pointsSelon means “according to”. Put a person or organisation after it as the source. It separates facts the writer checked directly from what another body or report said. Citing a source does not turn a forecast into an accomplished fact.
03The passé composé for events
present of avoir + past participle
Le 5 novembre à 11 h, l’Agence a annoncé la reprise d’e-Tax.Key pointsIt reports past events, as in “announced” or “explained”. A / ont is the auxiliary avoir and the next word is the past participle. The passé composé alone does not tell you the date of the event.
04The present of être
est / sont + complement
Aucune précision n’est donnée sur d’éventuelles échéances de déclaration ou de paiement affectées.Key pointsEst is third-person singular and sont third-person plural of être. They express “is / are” — a state or description. If a past participle follows, it is a different structure such as the passive, so check the words that follow.
05Dates and their prepositions
le + 日付 / du … au …
Le service de déclaration en ligne e-Tax de l’administration fiscale japonaise a été indisponible depuis midi le 4 novembre et rétabli le 5 à 11 h.Key pointsLe 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.
06Marking a starting point
dès / depuis / à partir de + point in time
Le service de déclaration en ligne e-Tax de l’administration fiscale japonaise a été indisponible depuis midi le 4 novembre et rétabli le 5 à 11 h.Key pointsDès means “as early as” or “as soon as”, and à partir de means “from … onwards”. Depuis basically shows a state or period continuing from a point in time. All deal with a start, but they are not used the same way.
Japanese grammar
Understand the structure and usage from the text.
01Citing a source: によると
noun + によると
ITmedia NEWS（5日6時44分、12時40分更新）によると、e-Taxは4日の昼ごろに使えなくなり、予告のない緊急メンテナンスの報告が出ました。Key pointsAs in “LCPによると”, it shows where the information comes from. What that source reported follows. It is used differently from “私にとって”, which gives one’s own opinion.
02Cause or purpose with ため
〜ため / 〜ために
国税庁は、その日に「不審な通信を検知した」ため、確認のための機器メンテナンスを行っていると公表しました。Key pointsため is used for both reason and purpose. “成立ではないため” is a reason and “運転手を守るため” a purpose. Decide from the whole sentence whether what precedes is a cause or a goal.
03The polite past ました
verb stem (連用形) + ました
国税庁の電子申告システムe-Taxが、4日の昼ごろから使えなくなり、5日午前11時に再開しました。Key pointsIn “発表しました”, ました makes a verb polite past. The negative is “ませんでした”. Read the actual date together with the date and time in the text.
04Quoting with と: content and report
plain-form sentence + と + verbe de parole (報じる, 説明する…)
5日の午前11時に国税庁は、e-Taxを再開したと発表しました。Key pointsと takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.
05Treating a clause like a noun with こと
plain-form sentence + こと + particle
国税庁は、必要な対応と安全の確認を終え、納税者の情報が漏れていないことを確認したと述べました。Key points“〜すること” treats an action or content like a noun. The particle after it (が・を・は…) shows its role in the sentence. “ことができる” is a fixed combination meaning “can”.
06Possibility in Japanese: できる・られる
verb potential form / 〜ことができる
利用者からは、通知が遅いことへの批判や、「年末調整ができない」という声が出ました。Key pointsできる is the basic verb for ability. The potential form of 受ける is 受けられる. The same られる can also be passive or honorific, so decide from the meaning of the sentence.