Yohko Orito

The Japanese sense of information privacy

We analyse the contention that privacy is an alien concept within Japanese society, put forward in various presentations of Japanese cultural norms at least as far back as Benedict in The chrysanthemum and the sword: patterns of Japanese culture. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1946. In this paper we distinguish between information privacy and physical privacy. As we show, there is good evidence for social norms of limits on the sharing and use of personal information (i.e. information privacy) from traditional interactions in Japanese society, as well as constitutional evidence from the late 19th century (in the Meiji Constitution of 1889). In this context the growing awareness of the Japanese public about problems with networked information processing by public sector and commercial organisations from the 1980s (when a law governing public sector use of personal information was first passed) to recent years (when that law was updated and a first law governing commercial use of personal information was adopted) are not the imposition or adoption of foreign practices nor solely an attempt to lead Japanese society into coherence with the rest of the OECD. Instead they are drawing on the experience of the rest of the developed world in developing legal responses to the breakdown of social norms governing interchange and use of personal information, stressed by the architectural changes wrought by networked information processing capabilities. This claim is supported by consideration of standard models of Japanese social interactions as well as of Supreme Court judgements declaring reasonable expectations of protection of privacy to hold in Japan.

Rethinking the concept of the right to information privacy: a Japanese perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reconsider the concept of the right to information privacy and to propose, from a Japanese perspective, a revised conception of this right that is suitable for the modern information society.Design/methodology/approach – First, the concept of privacy and personal information protection in the information society is briefly explained. After that, confused situations in Japan caused by the enforcement of Act on the Protection of Personal Information are described followed by the analysis of the Japanese socio‐cultural circumstances surrounding privacy. Based on these, the effectiveness of the concept of the right to information privacy in the Japanese socio‐cultural and economic context is examined and the need to rethink the concept of the right to information privacy discussed. Finally, a revised conception of the right is proposed.Findings – In view of the circumstances in Japan, the concept of the right to information privacy, defined as “an individuals right t...

The counter‐control revolution: “silent control” of individuals through dataveillance systems

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the social impacts of “silent control” of individuals by means of the architecture of dataveillance systems. It addresses the question whether individuals, in reality, can actually determine autonomously the kinds of information that they can acquire and convey in todays dataveillance environments. The paper argues that there is a risk of a “counter‐control revolution” that may threaten to reverse the “control revolution” described by Shapiro.Design/methodology/approach – Using relevant business cases, this paper describes the nature of dataveillance systems, then it examines situations in which the intellectual freedom of individuals is silently constrained by the architecture of such systems. This analysis leads to the conclusion that individuals in todays information society face the risk of a “counter‐control revolution” that can threaten their intellectual freedom. Given this troubling conclusion, the present paper addresses the challenges of establ...

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.

Information Offering by Anonymous in Japanese Human Flesh Search: Analysis of Motivation in Social Media Platform

In this study, we examined the motivations behind information-offering in social media. To this end, we investigated the case of Japanese human flesh search, which involved the participation of large numbers of anonymous users. Our analysis can be explained based on from the expectancy theory of motivation and information prospect ability.

The Development of Japanese Data Protection

In 2003, Japan enacted its first private-sector data protection legislation, complementing the concurrent update of the public-sector regulations. The publicly stated goal of the Japanese government was to support trade with Europe by providing suitably strong protection to qualify for European data-export approval. In this paper we examine the internal social and political pressures that led to the adoption of apparently strong private-sector data protection, despite prior long resistance to such a move. The pressures we have identified include direct and indirect effects of Japanese economic difficulties since the early 1990s, media pressure to update public-sector rules because of the introduction of Juki Net, and similar media pressure to apply similar rules to the private sector. We also examine the role that the technology of kanji input systems played on the lack of urgency in demands for private-sector data protection until 2000.

Socio‐cultural analysis of personal information leakage in Japan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse incidents of personal information leakage in Japan based on Japanese socio‐cultural characteristics of information privacy and to consider how best to develop an effective personal information protection policy that conforms to Japanese situations as well as to the global requirement of personal information protection.Design/methodology/approach – After describing recent incidents of personal information leakage in Japan, the paper examines the defects of the Act on Protection of Personal Information (APPI) that permit these incidents to continue. Subsequently, these incidents and the responses of the Japanese people in a manner that reflects the unique Japanese socio‐cultural characteristics of information privacy are analysed. Finally, the paper proposes a revision of APPI that conforms to these Japanese socio‐cultural characteristics as well as to the global requirement for personal information protection.Findings – Personal information leakage cases an...

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.

Private Information Transmission on the Consumer Generated Media: Information Privacy in the Japanese Context

This study examined private information transmissions on CGM/UGM websites from the perspective of the Japanese sense of information privacy. The characteristics of Japanese private information transmission on the CGM are described and discussed.