Japan Press Weekly

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2015 April 29 - May 12 [POLITICS]

Concerns over ‘My Number’ system increasing among SMEs

The government is speeding up its preparations for the start of the Social Security and Tax Number System, the so-called “My Number” system, in January 2016. This move, however, has generated great concern as well as confusion among small- and medium-sized businesses which will be obliged to properly handle “my numbers” of their employees and clients.

The My Number system seeks unified management of personal information regarding tax and social security by assigning a 12-digit ID number to every person living in Japan. The law on the ID number system requires companies to write down their employees’ individual numbers on official documents related to taxation and social insurance programs. Leakage of the ID numbers will lead to punishment of imprisonment of up to four years or will incur a fine of up to two million yen.

Under the My Number system, each corporation will be held responsible for the ID numbers collected not only from its employees, including non-regular employees, but also from employees’ family members and client companies.

The government guidelines on the protection of the collected ID numbers request all businesses, regardless of their size, to take various security measures and preventive measures against illegal access to personal data.

“Personal information compromises occur almost every year even at government offices, though the government says that individual companies should introduce strict security measures. It sounds nonsensical,” a worker, who is in charge of the “My Number” system at a healthcare-related company in Tokyo, said with a great sigh of exasperation.

Meanwhile, a government panel which drew up the guidelines argues, “All corporations are already normally handling their employees’ personal information. After the number system is introduced, all they need to do is just add the individual ID numbers to already collected information and be careful about security breaches.”

Kikuchi Daisuke, who operates an architectural office in Saitama Prefecture, criticizingly said, “I will have to basically replace my office’s security measures. It’s far from just adding individual ID numbers to the existing personal data file as the government panel argued.”


Past related article:
> Gov’t should give up use of ‘My Number’ system infringing on people’s human rights [March 2, 2015]