Yasunori Fukuta

Few Youngsters Would Follow Snowden's Lead in Japan

Purpose This paper aims to deal with the attitudes towards and social impact of Edward Snowden’s revelations in Japan, taking the Japanese socio-cultural and political environment surrounding privacy and state surveillance into account. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey of 1,820 university students and semi-structured follow-up interviews with 56 respondents were conducted, in addition to reviews of the literature on privacy and state surveillance in Japan. The outcomes of the survey were statistically analysed, and qualitative analyses of the interview results were also performed. Findings Snowden’s revelations have had little influence over Japanese youngsters’ attitudes towards privacy and state surveillance, mainly due to their low level of awareness of the revelations and high level of confidence in government agencies. Practical implications The study results imply a need for reviewing educational programmes for civic education in lower and upper secondary education. Social implications The results of this study based on a large-scale questionnaire survey indicate an urgent necessity for providing Japanese youngsters with opportunities to learn more about privacy, liberty, individual autonomy and national security. Originality/value This study is the first attempt to investigate the social impact of Snowden’s revelations on Japanese youngsters’ attitudes towards privacy and state surveillance as part of cross-cultural analyses between eight countries.

The view from the gallery: international comparison of attitudes to Snowden's revelations about the NSA/GCHQ

The series of revelations made by Edward Snowden revelations starting on 5th June 2013 exposed a true picture of state surveillance or, more precisely, surveillance conducted by an industrial-government complex in the democratic nations. His revelations have attracted heavy doses of both praise and censure; whereas some have positively evaluated his deed as an act of valour to protect democracy against the tyranny of the state, others have criticised him as a traitor to his country that have been preoccupied with responses to the threat of terrorism since the 9.11 attacks. Indeed, the US government filed charges of spying against him on 21st June, and he is forced to live in exile in Moscow. He said that only the American people could decide whether sacrificing his life was worth it by their response [10]. The Pew Research Foundation found in a survey that although Americans are deeply split on whether Snowdens actions served or harmed the public interest, that younger groups regarded his actions as more beneficial than harmful when compared with older groups Inspired by the Pew Research Foundations surveys [13, 14], an international group of academics led by the authors of this paper have conducted surveys on young people (students at their universities) about their attitudes to privacy online, and the actions of Bradley/Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden in separate and different modes of grand leaks. This survey has been deployed in China, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan. with further deployments expected.

So what if the state is monitoring us?: Snowden's revelations have little social impact in Japan

This study investigates the attitudes towards and social impacts of Edward Snowdens revelations in Japan through a questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews with Japanese youngsters as part of an international cross-cultural analyses. The survey results showed striking contrasts with ones in other countries reflecting the Japanese socio-cultural and political environment.

How Snowden’s revelations have influenced youngsters’ attitude and behaviour in the PRC and Taiwan

Purpose This study aims to investigate how Snowden’s revelations are viewed by young people in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan through questionnaire surveys of and follow-up interviews with university students in the two countries, taking into account the histories and current status of state surveillance in these countries and the current complicated and delicate cross-strait relationships. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire surveys of 315 PRC and 111 Taiwanese university students (a majority studying in those places but a few studying abroad) and semi-structured follow-up interviews with 16 master’s course students from the PRC and one from Taiwan (all studying at Meiji University in Japan) were conducted, in addition to reviews of the literature on privacy and state surveillance in the PRC and Taiwan. The outcomes of the survey were statistically analysed and qualitative analyses of the interview results were also performed. Findings Youngsters living in the PRC had greater interest in and more knowledge about Snowden’s revelations than those living in Taiwan, and the revelations were positively evaluated in both countries as serving public interest. However, PRC students indicated they were less likely to emulate Snowden than those from Taiwan did. Originality/value This study is the first attempt to investigate the social impact of Snowden’s revelations on PRC and Taiwanese youngsters’ attitudes towards privacy and state surveillance as part of cross-cultural analyses between eight countries.

Following Snowden Around the World: International Comparison of Attitudes to Snowden's Revelations about the NSA/GCHQ

Purpose A survey of the attitudes of students in eight countries towards the revelations of mass surveillance by the US’ NSA and the UK’s GCHQ has been described in an introductory paper and seven country-specific papers (The People’s Republic of China and Taiwan are combined in a single paper). This paper aims to present a comparison of the results from these countries and draws conclusions about the similarities and differences noted. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was deployed in Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, The People’s Republic of China, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan. The original survey was in English, translated into German, Japanese and Chinese for relevant countries. The survey consists of a combination of Likert scale, Yes/no and free-text responses. The results are quantitatively analysed using appropriate statistical tools and the qualitative answers are interpreted (including, where appropriate, consolidated into quantitative results). Findings There are significant differences between respondents in the countries surveyed with respect to their general privacy attitudes and their willingness to follow Snowden’s lead, even where they believe his actions served the public good. Research limitations/implications Owing to resource limitations, only university students were surveyed. In some countries (Germany and New Zealand), the relatively small number of respondents limits the ability to make meaningful statistical comparisons between respondents from those countries and from elsewhere on some issues. Practical implications Snowden’s actions are generally seen as laudable and having had positive results, among the respondents surveyed. Such results should give pause to governments seeking to expand mass surveillance by government entities. Originality/value There have been few surveys regarding attitudes to Snowden’s revelations, despite the significant press attention and political actions that have flowed from it. The context of attitudes to both the actions he revealed and the act of revelation itself is useful in constructing political and philosophical arguments about the balance between surveillance activity for state security and the privacy of individual citizens.