New ID system "My Number" in Japan

Japanese government will provide 12-digit IDs to every residents in Japan, both Japanese and foreign from October. It is for financial and medication reason of individuals living in Japan. By this, government will have access to ID holder's bank account details and also health status. People might all be worried about the transparency of the data, who has the access to your data and how the information will be used by government. Security of the information is going to be important as well. 

The main use of this new ID system is for government to use ID numbers to link with people's bank accounts for tax evasion. It should help preventing leak of pension, collecting the right amount of tax and to secure the individual information.

In order to maximize the benefit of the ID cards, each individual's health information will also kept together. History of vaccination, specific medical checkups and even diets details will be on the system. Citizen can benefit by being able to receive services based on their health. For example, if you tend to be obese, you might be able to get a weight loss program from the government. 

The information from ID can be used for many businesses reasons too. Government allows access and use of personal data without the consent of individuals. If a company is seeking for people with obesity, the ID card system can provide information without naming the individuals. This can provide suitable business opportunity for the company. 

Privacy protection law will be also changed slightly, allowing access to use personal data collected by the system. However, in case of data abuse, penalty for criminals will be even tougher. 

Just in case for cyber attack, all the data will be grouped and managed at different places so all data will not be lost in one attack. This kind of risk management is necessary. The new system will start operation from January 2016. 

News Source: NHK