Non sbaglio mai- Attacco alla privacy in Giappone

Da poco tempo in Giappone per comprare le sigarette da una macchinetta e' necessario usare un card identificativa, questo per evitare che dei minorenni comprino' le sigarette.
Escludendo la validita' o non del sistema sin dall' inizio mi sono posto una domanda. Ma perche una card dedicata come la Taspo?
Ecco la Taspo:

La mia patente ha il chip perche non posso usare quella?
Molti miei colleghi mi dicono "ma perche non ti fai la card e' piu comoda" escludendo che sto cercando smetterla di rovinarmi la salute, mi rifiuto di fare quella card perche' ho paura di come possotrebbero essere usati quei dati.
La mia personale opinione e' che in un futuro quando il sistema sanitario giapponese sara al collasso piu completo visto che ora annaspa in un mare di merda questa card risultera molto utile al governo.
Essendo un card dedicata potra essere usata come censimento della popolazione dei fumatori e come sistema di controllo statistico di consumo per singolo individuo.
Penso che in futuro il nostro caro Giappone al fumatore censito che si e' beccato un bel cancro dira:
"Caro mio lei e' un fumatore da 15 sigarette al giorno, cosa pensava che potesse succedere? Le terapie non gliele diamo se le paghi al 100% ora mutismo e rasegnazione"
Ok questo scenario e' un po estremo ma vista la situazione disastrosa del sistema sanitario giapponese non e' del tutto irrealistica, inoltre il governo giapponese non e' attivo nel sociale.
Si ricordi la sindrome di Minamata e i discendenti di Hiroshima e Nagasaki, vi e' molta gente ammalata che non riceve aiuti.
Comunque sul argomento sanita' faro una serie di post.
Su questa mia idea di cosa succedera solo il tempo dimostrera' se avevo ragione o no.
Un altro punto su cui spesso discutevo con i miei colleghi era un possibile uso della Taspo da parte della polizia per tracciare persone e abitudini.
Su questo non avevo cannato ecco un articolo interessante apparso sul Mainichi:
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20090727p2a00m0na020000c.html
Ecco il testo integrale:

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Tobacco industry body releasing personal info from taspo card holders to police without warrants

The cigarette industry body has provided personal information on the holders of "taspo" age-verifying cards for vending machines to law enforcers, it has emerged.

The Tokyo-based Tobacco Institute of Japan has denied any privacy concerns, despite not being legally required to give out the information.

"We respond to the authorities' inquiries if they are made under the Code of Criminal Procedure," an official said. "Our regulations don't clearly state how we respond to inquiries on its members' personal information made by the law enforcement authorities. However, we have no choice but to comply with requests made in accordance with legislation even if it is not compulsory."

The information released includes taspo holders' dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers and the dates of issue of their taspo cards, the dates and locations of the holders' cigarette purchases using their cards. The institute has declined to say how many pieces of personal information it has provided to authorities.

As of July 18, the Tobacco Institute of Japan has issued taspo cards to nearly 9.3 million people, or 34.7 percent of smokers across the country -- since it introduced the system in July last year. Those buying cigarettes from vending machines must touch their taspo cards against the machines to verify that they are aged 20 or over.

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qui invece un articolo del Japan Times:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090727a3.html
Ecco il testo integrale:

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Taspo data not kept private
Just by asking, prosecutors get information about cardholders


The Tobacco Institute of Japan, the industry body of tobacco manufacturers, has turned over vending machine logs on individuals' cigarette purchases and their personal information to prosecutors for investigative purposes, informed sources said.

Dual use: The taspo smart card allows the holder to buy cigarettes from vending machines — and authorities to monitor where and when they are used. KYODO PHOTO

The logs showing the use of taspo smart cards included records of when and at which vending machines the smokers bought cigarettes, as well as their dates of birth, addresses and phone numbers, the sources said.

There has been at least one case in which the logs helped investigators find a person they were looking for, the sources said.

Taspo cards, issued by the institute, are required to buy cigarettes from vending machines. The cards are issued only to adults aged 20 and older to block smoking by minors.

This appears to be the first time the use of taspo logs by criminal investigative authorities has become public knowledge. Similar use of credit card information and mobile phone logs has already been known.

The institute handed over taspo logs on a voluntary basis in response to prosecutors' inquiries based on the Code of Criminal Procedure, but users of taspo cards normally do not assume there is a possibility their taspo logs may be used in a criminal investigation.

Some critics question the appropriateness of handing over such records to criminal investigators from the standpoint of the need to protect personal information, arguing that the institute should inform taspo holders beforehand that it may turn over their logs to third parties.

"We have kept track of purchases-related logs to check if taspo cards that were stolen or for which reports of loss have been filed may have been used illicitly, and we basically would not provide them to third parties," an official at the tobacco institute said.

"But we cannot help turning over such logs as well as the addresses, names, dates of birth and contacts of cardholders to investigative authorities as necessary if the authorities request the logs in writing in line with the Code of Criminal Procedure," the official said.

"Since Article 23 of the rules for taspo cardholders stipulates that cardholders consent to the use of their information by the institute if the institute takes necessary measures to protect the information, we assume that the article also covers logs on their purchases," the official said.

The institute has handed over to investigators such information as the dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers and dates of issuance of taspo cards of certain persons, as well as a list of when and where the cards were used, the sources said.

There have been cases where the institute turned over copies of taspo applications as well as the copies of identification cards, such as drivers' licenses, that applicants were required to attach to the applications.

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