Nihon Cyber Defence Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, CEO and Founder: Cartan Joseph McLaughlin, hereinafter "NCD"), a provider of advanced cyber defense solutions for national critical infrastructure and government agencies, will establish the "Nihon Cyber Defence Scholarship," a grant-based scholarship program for students at four universities and colleges of technology in Shizuoka Prefecture, starting April 2026. This scholarship will cover full tuition and facility fees during the period of study, with no repayment obligation. This initiative aims to build a sustainable talent development ecosystem through industry-academia-government-private collaboration, starting from Shizuoka, to address the domestic cybersecurity talent shortage, estimated at approximately 110,000 people. The program will be gradually expanded to educational institutions outside the prefecture from fiscal year 2027. ■Background of Establishment | Addressing the 110,000 Cybersecurity Talent Shortage from Shizuoka Japan faces a shortage of at least 110,000 cybersecurity professionals, and the gap between demand and supply is expected to worsen. In fact, job postings in related fields have increased 24-fold over the past decade, and securing specialized personnel is extremely difficult, particularly in regional areas. To solve this national challenge of talent shortage, NCD will play a leading role in nurturing cybersecurity talent. In response to these challenges, Nihon Cyber Defence signed a "Partnership Agreement on Human Resource Development Utilizing Digital Technology and New Industrial Cluster Formation" with the City of Shizuoka on December 24, 2025. The company will establish the "Nihon Cyber Shizuoka Centre of Excellence (NCSCOE)" near JR Shizuoka Station, equipped with state-of-the-art functions, with plans to invest approximately 2 to 3 billion yen and create 80 to 100 jobs over the next two to three years. This scholarship is positioned as a "core measure for human resou