Japan Press Weekly

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2015 November 4 - 10 [POLITICS]

‘My Number’ system too dangerous for full-scale operation

Akahata editorial

The Social Security and Tax Number System, also known as the “My Number” system, went into effect in October. Under the system, the government assigns a 12-digit ID number to every resident in Japan in order to have unified control over personal information. Local governments began sending notification cards with “My Number” in late-October and already various mistakes have been reported. Some of the cards were delivered to the wrong addresses and some municipal governments mistakenly entered the ID numbers on certificates of residence without obtaining the consent from the person assigned of the number. With these mistakes and problems occurring one after another within just a few weeks, anxiety over the system which deals with confidential information is growing. It is too dangerous for the “My Number” system to go into full-scale operation in January as currently scheduled.

Government pays no heed to people’s anxiety

The “My Number” system involves all residents in Japan, including foreign residents, and is designed to be used for various procedures for taxation and social security purposes. Citing the risk of information leaks and the fear of greater control over personal information by the government, the general public is expressing concern over the ID number system which combines a vast amount of personal information, including family registration and income information.

Before getting the system started in full swing, the authorities need to notify more than 120 million people in 55 million households of their ID numbers. Municipal governments started sending ID notification cards using simplified registered mail. This will be the biggest project in the history of Japan’s postal service. It is already reported that some of the cards were delivered to the wrong people and that others were temporarily lost during delivery. As governments of major cities are expected to mail out the cards soon, some fear that the number of mishaps will increase.

More than ten municipal governments mistakenly printed ID numbers on documents issued to residents and some people were notified of other people’s IDs by mistake. This clearly shows that the My Number system will inevitably bring about a situation where minor mistakes could result in a serious breach in the protection of confidential personal information.

More importantly, it is highly likely that many people will be unable to receive their “My Numbers”. Under the government-set schedule, “notification cards” will be delivered to everyone by the end of November. However, there is no guarantee that this schedule will be observed. People such as elderly living in care homes without changing their resident registry, 2011 disaster victims taking shelter outside their hometowns, and DV victims keeping their location secret will have to follow required procedures in order to receive their ID numbers. Some municipalities are experiencing difficulty in confirming the addresses of 10-20% of their residents. Although the new ID system has been inaugurated, there exist many individuals who have no way to get their ID numbers.

Regarding the use of “My number” cards at workplaces, trans gender people are expressing concern about possible discrimination and harassment because their sex at birth is registered on their ID cards. Blind and visually impaired people are again being neglected as there is no braille-version of the ID cards. Without reflecting on these realities, the government assigned the ID numbers to the general public. How dare the government say that the “My Number” system will “help improve public convenience”. Bulldozing through the full-fledged use of the system is unacceptable.

Only stopping the use of the system contributes to public interest

Large corporations are excitedly expecting that the “My Number” scheme will bring about trillions of yen in profits to them. Meanwhile, a bribery scandal involving a welfare ministry official proved that this ID program is tainted by patronage and corruption. The “My Number” system will not only endanger the privacy of the individual to meet large corporations’ interests but also cause the general public serious problems. The need is to freeze and put a halt to the system.

Past related articles:
> Welfare ministry official arrested for bribery over ‘My Number’ system project [October 14 & 15, 2015]
> Sex registration on ‘My Number’ cards backpedals on efforts to eliminate discrimination against LGBT people [June 7, 2015]
> ‘My Number’ system would deny people’s right to work [May 15, 2015]