The Japan Times, Ltd. and News2u Holdings, Inc. (Oct 19 Update 2) say a group-managed server was hit with ransomware on Sep 18, 2026 (first announced Oct 2). On Oct 15 they confirmed attacker-claimed exfiltrated data appeared on an external site. Preliminary finding: the server was an administrative file server used through August 2022; published material may include HR and business-partner information spanning 2001–August 2022. They say the server has no data from August 2022 onward, and that Japan Times Online, subscriber DBs, and payment systems run on separate infrastructure. They isolated the server, are cross-checking the dump with external specialists, and are reporting to the Personal Information Protection Commission and police. Contact for the incident desk: [email protected]. They warn against phishing that impersonates the group.