Launched the previous August, it offers a nationwide computer network for centralized management of residents' information. Since it is an online system, an organization controlled by the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications is able to make available personal information on all Japanese citizens for administrative use by ministries and other government departments. The data includes the person's name, address and an 11-digit identification number. Although the ministry says the Juki Net has begun to perform its functions fully, some local governments, concerned over possible information leaks and other security problems, either refused to connect their databases to the network or voiced serious doubts about the system.
What new functions and features have been added to the system for the start of full-scale operations, which began amid such dissent by some local governments?
The ministry trumpets two new services as its principal benefits:
- Citizens can obtain a copy of their certificate of residence at any municipal office nationwide-not just where they are registered-by presenting their Juki Card, a smart card with an embedded integrated circuit chip that stores their personal information.
- Local governments can offer residents various services, using the Juki Card, such as the opportunity to settle public utility charges and take part in book lending services.
In Ichikawa city, Chiba Prefecture, residents can also already get a copy of the document at city convenience stores by filing a request with the municipal government over the phone.
The Juki Net is designed to allow citizens to get a copy of their certificate of residence at any municipal office by producing proper identification, such as a driver's license. Consequently, there is clearly no need for local governments to issue a new card for this purpose.
Municipalities are also apparently unenthusiastic about providing special services related to the Juki Card.
Only 45 of the roughly 3,200 cities, towns and villages nationwide had prepared for such new services by the time full-fledged operations began. Many municipal governments simply do not foresee a big demand among residents for the services, which would cost them tens or even hundreds of millions of yen.
The public management ministry's effort to promote the network as a powerful new tool to upgrade administrative services has failed to inspire deficit-laden local governments.
Faced with such lukewarm responses from local governments, the ministry has changed its sales pitch and begun stressing that the Juki Net will serve as an infrastructure underpinning the envisioned e-government. In future, the ministry says, the network will be used to electronically authenticate applicants when requests for administrative services are filed with the government via the Internet.
Since private businesses can also use the official authentication service, the ministry hopes the benefits of the Juki Net will become widely recognized over time.
But this is also an unconvincing argument for building up the mammoth network since 11-digit identification numbers are unnecessary for authentication purposes.
When all is said and done, the case for creating such a huge database of personal information by assigning an ID number to all Japanese residents seems very weak.
One step the government could take to reinforce its case for the Juki Net is to also use the system as a residents' identification number system to fight crime. But this application has previously been regarded as unacceptable.
The United States and Britain have developed an ID card system as a means to track down refugees and terrorists. Japan also uses a system to control foreign residents' information-it issues them with a registration card with an ID number. The government may use the decline in public safety as a pretext to expand the scope of this system to cover all residents in Japan.
But this alarming prospect is not the only concern to arise from the Juki Net's expanded operations.
Applications for public services using the Juki Card, and e-commerce using smart card services offered by private businesses, certainly make things much more convenient.
But this inevitably involves endless accumulation of electronically stored information on individuals, including records of services they received and their basic personal data.
Some people may view this side of a networked society as convenient, but the idea makes others uneasy.
Establishing the right to control one's personal information has long been called for as a way of curbing the perils that come with a wired society. But enshrining such a right in legislation would not alone present a real solution to the problem.
It is equally important to incorporate into the system a technology that allows individuals to specify in detail how and for what purpose their data can be used on a case-by-case basis when they offer it. Various such technologies have recently been developed.
Developing and evolving technology that enables an individual to protect one's privacy is vital to ensure everyone has a sense of security in the 21st century's IT-driven society, which lurks behind the Juki Net.
Quelle: Asahi Shimbun
