Court backs Japanese database - Financial Times

The Financial Times
World / Asia-Pacific
Court backs Japanese database
By Mariko Sanchanta
Published: October 15 2005 03:00 | Last updated: October 15 2005 03:00

A district court yesterday ruled that Juki Net, a controversial national database that contains information about Japanese citizens, is legal and does not violate privacy rights.

The Fukuoka court ruling is a blow to those protesting against the network and demanding their details be removed from it.

Launched in 2002, Juki Net provoked a national uproar.

The national database keeps records of the name, sex, date of birth and place of residence of every Japanese citizen, each of whom is assigned an 11-digit code. The information is shared among central and local governments.

Mariko Sanchanta, Tokyo