Japan can now begin deploying quantum-safe encryption at scale following PQShield's evaluation of ML-KEM, as standardised in NIST FIPS 203, for CRYPTREC
The milestone unlocks adoption across Japan's government procurement and technology supply chain, aligning the country with global mandates such as CNSA 2.0
The CRYPTREC ML-KEM evaluation report highlights the importance of secure and efficient implementation, particularly in protecting against side-channel and physical attacks.

TOKYO, April 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- PQShield, a global leader in post-quantum cryptography (PQC), today announced it has delivered the external ML-KEM evaluation for CRYPTREC, Japan's cryptographic standardisation body. This milestone supports the inclusion of ML-KEM in the CRYPTREC Ciphers List - comparable to frameworks such as the U.S. CNSA 2.0 - removing a major barrier to PQC adoption and allowing organisations to begin deploying quantum-safe cryptography across government, critical infrastructure and the wider technology supply chain.

The inclusion of ML-KEM in the CRYPTREC Ciphers List marks the first clear and official signal that the Japanese government is accelerating its move towards quantum-safe security, ahead of a formal national roadmap expected by May 2027. As the Ciphers List defines the cryptographic standards required for government procurement and broadly adopted across industry, this development will directly shape the technologies used across Japan's industrial and export ecosystem.

This evaluation forms part of Japan's broader PQC migration strategy, with the National Cyber Command Office (NCO) targeting a full transition to quantum-safe cryptography by 2035. As Japan accelerates this transition, alignment with global standards ensures its industries can operate securely and competitively across international markets.

This also reflects broader global policy alignment, with governments increasingly moving from PQC standardisation to real-world deployment.

PQShield was commissioned to conduct the full-stack evaluation of ML-KEM, the quantum-safe encryption standard approved by NIST, providing analysis across both theoretical security and practical implementation. This work formed a key part of CRYPTREC's assessment process and underpins its conclusion that ML-KEM is "robust and secure" against both classical and quantum attacks, with all parameter sets meeting or exceeding NIST security levels, and that it is "viable for general-purpose applications."

The CRYPTREC report highlights that the primary challenge in PQC adoption is secure and efficient implementation, particularly in protecting against side-channel and physical attacks. PQShield's evaluation reinforces that these challenges are solvable in practice, supporting the deployment of secure, hardened implementations at scale.

Through its UltraPQ-Suite, PQShield provides production-ready implementations of ML-KEM optimised for deployment across the full technology stack, including:

Ultra fast solutions for high-performance networking and data centre infrastructure
Ultra secure implementations hardened against advanced attacks for critical systems
Ultra small deployments for embedded devices and constrained environments

PQShield's involvement in CRYPTREC builds on its growing presence in Japan through its local entity, PQShield G.K., led by Shuichi Katsumata, Lead Cryptography Researcher, alongside participation in the Cyber Research Consortium (CRC) under a NEDO-funded programme and collaboration with AIST and leading industry partners. As a UK NCSC Assured Cyber Security Consultancy (ACSC) provider for PQC, the company supports governments and critical infrastructure operators with migration planning and implementation. Its team of cryptographers and engineers are co-authors of the initial NIST PQC standards and continue to shape global standardisation efforts across bodies including NIST, IETF and ETSI.

Dr Ali El Kaafarani, founder and CEO of PQShield, said: "Post-quantum cryptography is entering a new phase, where global standards, government investment and industry progress are beginning to align. With hyperscalers signalling that practical quantum computing is getting closer, the focus is shifting to coordinated, strategic implementation across the entire ecosystem - from OEMs and semiconductor providers to network security and critical national infrastructure. As governments set clear transition timelines, the next step is ensuring that requirements are aligned across borders so organisations can plan and execute with confidence. Our contribution to CRYPTREC builds on the world-class research already underway, while ensuring these algorithms can be securely deployed in real systems. We're proud to support Japan's transition and help turn this global alignment into operational quantum-safe security."

Dr Shuichi Katsumata, Lead Cryptography Researcher at PQShield, said: "The ML-KEM evaluation reflects a comprehensive analysis of both theoretical security and real-world implementation. In addition to confirming strong security guarantees against classical and quantum attacks, our work examined practical considerations such as performance, parameter selection, and resistance to side-channel and fault attacks. This is critical, as the security of post-quantum cryptography depends not only on the underlying mathematics, but on its implementation in real systems. Our findings show that ML-KEM can be deployed securely and efficiently, providing a strong technical foundation to support Japan's roadmap towards quantum-safe cryptography."

About PQShield
PQShield is a post-quantum cryptography (PQC) company creating the global standards and core technologies to power the future security layer of the world's leading organizations. Its quantum-secure cryptographic solutions work with companies' legacy systems to protect sensitive data now and for years to come. It is the only cybersecurity company that can deliver high-quality secure implementations of quantum-safe cryptography on chips, in applications, and in the cloud, and is also an authority on PQC side channel attack resistance, having built a dedicated PQC SCA test lab with industry partners. PQShield is also a leading contributor to the post-quantum cryptography standardization projects throughout the world.

Headquartered in the UK, with teams across Europe, the United States and Japan, PQShield is backed by leading venture capital and corporate investors. Its extensive research paper catalog is available here. The company also hosts Shielded, a cybersecurity podcast exploring real-world stories of post-quantum cryptography adoption from international companies and institutions.

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