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."

Comments

Some insight into the Japanese situation:

[Blind Linux]

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.

Re:Some insight into the Japanese situation:

[ThinkingGuy]

culture that prides themselves on traditional values of honor, discretion and privacy

-A culture where people willingly register their personal information with the local police officers (for "emergency use only")
-Where privacy is referred to as "puraibashii" because the language has no native term for the concept?
-Where people have commonly faced discrimination in housing, employment, and marriage based on information the government-listed family register?

Must be a different Japan than the one I lived in :)

Re:Jumping the Gun

[DLWormwood]

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.

Re:I wonder...

[Copperhead]

Well, the government in the US tried a different tactic (perhaps unintentional). It's call incrementalism...

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?"