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<\/p>\nA massive banking blackout has rocked Japan, taking 128 major banks offline in a mysterious single \u201csystem failure\u201d and cutting the public off from access to cash, deposits, and online transfers.<\/p>\n
The shutdown has hit 3,430 branches, and customers have been given no timeline for when they\u2019ll be able to access their money again.<\/p>\n
Every shinkin bank west of the Tokai region was hit.<\/p>\n
ATM withdrawals and transfers stopped, branch counters suspended deposits and withdrawals, and internet banking went down across the affected network.<\/p>\n
Shinkin Central Bank said<\/a> the blackout began around 1:30 p.m. on November 6.<\/p>\n Engineers are trying to restart the network while the bank investigates how a communications failure at one center brought customer banking services across western Japan to a standstill.<\/p>\n One Communications Failure Takes Down an Entire Regional Banking Network<\/strong><\/p>\n Shinkin Central Bank traced<\/a> the disruption to equipment at its West Japan Center, which oversees the regional banking network.<\/p>\n The bank suspects an equipment malfunction, but the exact cause remains unclear.<\/p>\n It said it had detected no unauthorized access but did not rule out a cyberattack.<\/p>\n The Shinkin Joint System serves 236 shinkin banks, more than 90% of all such banks in Japan.<\/p>\n Its infrastructure is split between eastern and western Japan.<\/p>\n The eastern network continued operating normally, with no reports that the outage had spread.<\/p>\n The longer the blackout lasts, the longer local businesses face disruption to payments and transfers.<\/p>\n Sole proprietors and small and midsize businesses that rely on shinkin banks are particularly exposed.<\/p>\n Shinkin Central Bank is keeping affected lenders informed as engineers work to restore service.<\/p>\n U.S. Banks Brace for a \u2018Day After\u2019 Scenario as AI Agents Gain Access to Accounts<\/strong><\/p>\n As Slay News reported<\/a> last week, American financial institutions are preparing for a separate threat to the systems that handle everyday payments, deposits, and lending.<\/p>\n Banks are confronting a surge in cyberattacks as customers give autonomous AI assistants the credentials to access their finances.<\/p>\n Banks are already \u201cexperiencing unvetted AI agent activity,\u201d Axios reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some agents have gone beyond what customers authorized, contacting call centers or gaining unauthorized access to sensitive systems and platforms.<\/p>\n The danger extends to the money banks depend on to operate.<\/p>\n Automated financial tools can move vast sums quickly, raising the risk that banks could lose the low-cost deposits they rely on for lending.<\/p>\n Axios distinguished that activity from a separate summer attack in which a swarm of AI agents<\/a> hacked the Hugging Face<\/a> platform, setting off security alarms across the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re assuming they [agents] are going to act properly on your behalf and they may not,\u201d JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told<\/a> The Economic Club of Chicago.<\/p>\n FEMA to Interrupt Broadcasts Nationwide in Emergency Alert Test<\/strong><\/p>\n The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission are preparing to test the network used to reach Americans during a national emergency.<\/p>\n The exercise is scheduled for November 17, with December 3 set aside as a backup date.<\/p>\n \u201cAt approximately 2:20 p.m. ET on November 17, 2026, radio and television broadcasters, cable systems, satellite radio and television providers, and wireline video providers nationwide will interrupt normal programming to relay a test message,\u201d FEMA said.<\/p>\n Viewers could see full-screen notices or scrolling banners accompanied by loud alert tones and a spoken announcement.<\/p>\n The broadcast will identify itself as a test before regular programming resumes.<\/p>\n The Emergency Alert System links thousands of broadcasters and providers and enables the president to address the country during a national emergency.<\/p>\n The drill is designed to expose failures in how those systems receive and relay a national message before the network is needed in a real disaster.<\/p>\n Military Plans to Keep Bases Running for 90 Days Without Outside Support<\/strong><\/p>\n Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is urging<\/a> Americans to stock up on essentials as the military prepares major installations to operate for at least 90 days without outside support under an initiative called FORTRESS America.<\/p>\n The plan calls for portable nuclear reactors, large battery systems, and independent local power grids to keep bases running through blackouts.<\/p>\n It also calls for reserves of ammunition, fuel, critical minerals, electronics, spare parts, and medical supplies, along with plans for civilian factories to shift to military production.<\/p>\n The military would establish at least two qualified supply or production pathways for critical requirements to reduce its dependence on any single source.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to rely on standard civilian municipal infrastructure to run our national defense,\u201d War Department spokesperson Sean Parnell told Fox News.<\/p>\n On his podcast, Bongino urged families to prepare their own homes for disruptions to essential services.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Pentagon\u2019s doing its job to keep our national security safe and make \u2018Fortress America.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to make \u2018Fortress my house,\u2019 \u2018Fortress my apartment.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cPlease, do it for everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cYour neighbors are not going to have any extra food,\u201d Bongino said.<\/p>\n Governments Tell Households to Stock Food, Water, and Medicine<\/strong><\/p>\n Britain\u2019s updated guidance<\/a> urges households to keep three days\u2019 worth of essentials, including food, water, and medicine, in case severe weather, cyberattacks, blackouts, or infrastructure failures disrupt daily life.<\/p>\n Sweden advises households to be ready to manage on their own for at least a week, including during a crisis or war.<\/p>\n Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, and France have also urged households to prepare for emergencies.<\/p>\n Japan Scrambles to Bolster Cybersecurity<\/strong><\/p>\n