Opinion Privacy? What privacy? By Scott T. Hards	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
住基ネットの「プライバシー」とは？ 住基ネットからの個人情報流出が懸念されているが そこに登録される情報のほとんどは すでに一般社会で公になっているものではないか。

With the passage of the Personal Information Protection Act in late May, the debate about personal information is once again at the fore in Japan. A central issue is whether the "Juki Net" - a computer network for cities to share basic information about their residents - is a safe system. The goal of the system is to help make the many troublesome official applications and documents that citizens need to deal with easier to process for all parties. But some people are worried that lax security could let their "personal" information leak out. A Nagano Prefecture committee has recommended that Nagano drop out of Juki Net entirely for this reason.

I simply cannot understand the privacy concerns of people criticizing Juki Net. Official forms and registrations are one of the biggest annoyances in Japan. I'm behind anything that will lessen that burden. And I don't think Juki Net presents a meaningful security risk.

Consider the information: name, address, gender, date of birth. This is the kind of information you're required to provide all the time when requesting services, be it a loan at the bank or to rent videos at your local video shop. Even if the information on Juki Net is perfectly protected, there are already hundreds of other ways for this information to leak out.

Consider the risk: So what if it does leak? Now somebody knows your name, address, etc. And what are they going to do with that? They will probably send you advertising. That's hardly a major social crisis. And if somebody wants to use it for a crime, they don't need Juki Net to get that level of information about you.

Consider other privacy violations: Japanese society is filled with far worse examples of personal information being publicized, yet there seems to be no public outcry.

Any new parent can tell you that shortly after a birth, there is a flood of direct-mail advertising for baby-related products. This is because companies can freely browse birthdates and other personal information at city offices.

If you have a friend who is a car dealer or in a related business, you can get the name and address of the owner of any car from its license plate number. That's why TV reports frequently conceal the plates of photographed cars.

If you decide to build a house in Japan, your name, address, and other information about the project are published in industry newspapers, resulting in a deluge of commercial offers.

If you file for personal bankruptcy and your debts are discharged by the courts, your name and address are published in court documents, freely viewable by others.

And perhaps the ultimate privacy violation: If you make more than ¥10 million per year, your name and income are publicized by the tax bureau as part of the annual taxpayer rankings.

On the one hand, people love to complain about government services. "Make it better," they say. But when the government tries to do so with Juki Net, they scream, "Privacy invasion!", while ignoring all the gaping holes that already exist. You cannot have it both ways, folks. I'll take Juki Net.

Shukan ST: June 13, 2003

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