PlayStation Network not up in Japan due to ongoing security concerns

(CBS/AP) TOKYO - Sony may have partially restored its troubled PlayStation Network around the globe, but in Japan government officials have refused to restart the online gaming services due to uncertainty about the supposed security boost, according to reports.

In a Dow Jones press release obtained by gaming blog Engadget, a Japanese regulatory official said Sunday that Sony needs to provide more information on what security measures it has implemented since the massive hack last month that compromised more than 100 million online accounts and caused the company to shut the online gaming service down.

"We are asking Sony whether their measures are good enough when compared to countermeasures taken in the past," Kazushige Nobutani, director of the Media and Content Industry department at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, told the Dow Jones Newswires.

Restored operations have begun in the United States and Europe, but for now those services are limited to online gaming, chat and music streaming.

Sony said it aims to fully restore the PlayStation Network by the end of May.

PSN is a system that links gamers worldwide in live play. Sony shut it down on April 20 after discovering a hacker attack.

Sony said personal data, including credit card numbers, may have been stolen. But the company said Sunday it had not received any reports of the stolen information being used illegally.

Sony spokeswoman Kumie Tanaka told the news wire service that the company has beefed up security measures to protect customers' personal data and hopes to restore service in Japan soon.

"We are still in talks with various authorities [in Japan and Asia]," Tanaka said according to the press release. "By receiving advice from the industry ministry, we would like to have the service in Japan ready."

Complete coverage of the PlayStation network attack on Crimesider