Japan Citizens Don’t Like National Identity Card

The Scotsman – August 5, 2002

Big Brother Fears as Japan Ushers in ID Era

When the Social Security number was launched in the U.S., many were concerned that it would turn into a national identity card. That hasn’t happened quite yet, but citizens of Japan are now dealing with an official introduction of an 11 digit identity number for every citizen.

People’s birthdate, name, address, and gender will be entered into a national database. To reduce fears of government intrusion, it appears that citizens can “opt-out” of having their data included. If so, what’s the point of having a national database? Better to save the taxpayers money and not build a database in the first place.

With immigration and terrorism concerns on the rise, is the U.S. next on the list for a national identity card? A good topic for a future article…