Public Perceptions on National ID System in Japan

So Morikawa

National ID, policy perception, privacy, e-government

May 2017

Journal of Economics, Busiess and Management

Vol. 5 (5)

http://www.joebm.com/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=show&catid=73&id=866

Journal of Economics, Business and Management

Although Japanese government finally passed the bill on introduction of national ID system in 2015; people are reluctant to register to the system. We report results of online survey we conducted on public perceptions on new national ID system (N=2000). Our findings are twofold: (1) Japanese citizens actually do not have strong opinions on national ID system, and their perception towards merits and demerits of national ID system can be divided into 3 factors (perception of increased tax burden, anxiety about privacy leakage, and perception towards advantages of installing the system); (2) These factors have significant relationship with support for the new system, and people who are willing to share their personal information for the society tend to support the system. Through the analysis, some practical implications for policy makers are also drawn.