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Japanese Cry Foul on New ID System
Gudlyf writes: "As an update to the previous story on Japan's governmental ID system, the AP is reporting that many Japanese have organized into protest groups that have popped up and are planning a rally at which demonstrators will show their outrage by ripping up the papers being sent out by the government to assign every citizen an 11-digit number."
The Japanese are a culture that prides themselves on traditional values of honor, discretion and privacy. The 11 digit number system is an affront to this system of values in the eyes of many Japanese... this is the reason for the protests.
Many Japanese do not see any reason for the 11 digit number. They feel that this level of monitoring and tracking goes against their traditional values, and feel detached from the events that have lead to higher security levels all over the world.
Despite the Sarin gas attacks by Aum, the Japanese remain very confident in their society's moral standing and place privacy and discretion on a high pedestal.
> The Slash in Slashdot would be more accurate if it leaned to the left :)
Then it would be backslashdot.org
...if the next step is to offer free 'feature filled' tatooing of these numbers onto every persons' arm at the time of birth?
Now where have I heard of this concept before...
--trb
It's not different, yet I wish the Japanese luck with blocking it. Here in the States, the SSN has mutated from being a government benefit ID to being used to track credit histories and employment. Logic may dictate that the Slippery Slope is not a valid concern, but history shows otherwise.
Those who complain about affect & effect on
When the Social Security system, everyone received a social security number that we were assured that it would not be used as a personal ID number. But, there was never a law passed to keep it from being an ID number.
Then, of course, we got used to it... everyone has a social security number. It became a defacto ID number. At my school, each student is given an id number, but rarely does anyone know it, because you can use your SS# anywhere you need your id#.
Now, with the war on terrorism, I'm sure someone will get the bright idea of changing the SS# into an identification number, and across the country, millions of people will scratch their heads and say, "What was it before?"
Your reality is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever. - Baron Munchausen
Because they want theirs to be unique. No where in the Social Security law does it mandate that every SS# be unique although it is rare that two+ people have the same number. This stems from the fact that SSN's were never meant to be ID numbers, but through a series of Executive Orders, has become just that. A good reference on this is the book "A Gift Of Fire"
Banner ad connected to a story about the Big Brother aspects of Japan's national ID system: A closeup of an Asian woman's eyes, and the text "See all. Know all."
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You're free to keep your privacy by remaining a hermit. You're not free to engage in society while remaining anonymous. If you don't like it, move. If you can find somewhere to move where you have the right to anonymity, let the rest of us know!
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
Anyway, I hold my SSN with a death grip, and so far I've had no identity theft problems. So, until that happens, I'm content to sit on my lazy American ass and keep my SSN.
Lucky you. Unfortunately, my college used my SSN as my student number, with which my grades and such were publicly posted. Any one of a few thousand students and any clever con artists who come on campus looking for numbers could have my SSN and name right now, just waiting to exploit it.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
that is totaly wrong. SSN were supposed to be unique, thats why they have always had a pattern.
SSN that start with a 5 are from a certian local, for example.
There was a case of a wallet maker who put a fake SSN card in the wallet to show everybody where to put there card. unfortunatly the fake card had his secretaries SSN on it. A l0ot of people who bought thatr wallet thouth the fake SSN number was their SSN number and started using it. obvously this caused some concern at some gov't agency
They where meant to be a tax ID. How can you have a federal tax ID for all adults if they aren't unique?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Except for that whole fourth ammendment, which is supposed to protect us from "unreasonable search or seizure". Unless of course you're a drug user or terrorist or one of the many things America has declared "War" on.
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