Comment by kevin

November 19, 2007 @ 11:09 pm

Might find this interesting. It’s a link to a government promotional video for the fingerprinting scheme. It’s rather surreal to watch - like Hello Kitty meets George Orwell.

http://nettv.gov-online.go.jp/common/moviechk.php?p=1203&d=0&t=110&b=0&m=1&r=2

Comment by DeOrio

November 19, 2007 @ 11:29 pm

I saw that video being run in an interminable loop on every TV at the Shinagawa Immigration Office when I was last there, in July. What struck me was that, although it was shown without sound on all but one of the TVs there, in versions I’ve heard it’s voiced over, but obviously was originally done in Japanese. Considering that Japanese is not exactly widely spoken outside of Japan and that Japanese nationals are not being targeted by this scheme, it would seem that the original video was targeting foreigners who’d been here long enough to understand the video - that alone should have given the organizers pause over the threat posed by such people.

Far more important is the fact that they went with a format that shows foreigners asking questions and raising objections, but without bringing up any of the very valid reasons that this is a good idea or even beginning to answer any of the objections raised, even in the video. Unfortunately, this is being handled like most other Japanese government programs wherein vague answers or great leaps in logic are made and presented as though they were self-evident. Nowhere, for instance, have I seen any plausible explanation of how terrorism is going to be prevented by this or how the system is going to work - it seems impossible to have both the effective information-sharing necessary to being able to nail bad guys before they do anything bad and to maintain the privacy protections both required by law and promised.

In reality, the system will neither do anything to prevent terrorism nor keep private information private. To be honest, I see no reason to believe there will even be a good faith effort on the latter point and no track of competence to show that the former is even worthwhile.

What will happen is that Japan will be tossing up yet one more obstacle to becoming the regional financial hub it wants to be. The GOJ will combine this headache with the existing headaches, build a lot of costly class A office space, go further into debt, remain miles below the level where they should be, and continue to blame everyone but themselves for the unpleasant state of affairs.

Given the number of people who get this, it’d be nice to see ambassadors or more reasonable people in positions of power in Japan have the nuts to directly ask the relevent ministers, “Are you out of your fucking minds?”

That’ll never happen, though?

Comment by Ken Worsley

November 20, 2007 @ 12:37 am

We linked to the video when they put it out…there was some discussion about it back then. If I can find the page I’ll post it here…

Comment by kevin

November 20, 2007 @ 1:31 am

Garrett,

I agree with you about the lack of plausible explanations for how this could prevent terrorist attacks. In all the terrorist acts they cited, fingerprinting would have done nothing to prevent them.

What disturbs me more than the sheer ineffectiveness of this system (which, considering it’s a and government scheme, doesn’t suprise me) is the privacy concerns. There seems to be a gradual move both for private companies and governments to start using fingerprints and other biometrics as an answer to our security concerns. What I think a lot of people don’t realize is how easy it is to fake someone else’s fingerprints using simply a digital image of the original.
For example;

http://www.ccc.de/biometrie/fingerabdruck_kopieren.xml?language=en

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M8D4wWYgsc

So what happens when this fingerprint database gets leaked onto bit torrent sites? Your fingerprints, unlike pin numbers, can’t be changed so once your prints are out there, you could be really screwed. Especially if fingerprint readers become common security measures for other things.

I know retinal-scans are harder to fake at present but I don’t think it will be that long before these are copied as well.

Comment by DeOrio

November 20, 2007 @ 9:36 am

Right on, Kevin. On top of that, there even more quotidian concerns: How will the fingerprint scanners be checked? Will the sensor screens be cleaned after each person to ensure that no oily fingerprint making residue is left, thereby causing a faulty scan? Will the scans be checked against anything such as an ink fingerprint to ensure accuracy? Will the scans be done slowly and of at least eight fingers, as security experts recommend?

Of course not. None of those things will be done, even though the idea is to use the fingerprints to identify criminal suspects?

The even more glaring thing, though, is what we both mentioned above: the only way fingerprinting will prevent terrorism is if you have an accurate, believable terrorist watchlist (no such thing exists), full sets of prints on file for the people on it (highly unlikely), and the ability to scan and accurately compare the just-taken prints with the potential terrorists’ prints in the database instantly - before a person enters the country - and deal with warning flags immediately and appropriately (never going to happen.)

I’ll take it even further and say that high-tech investigative tools are only useful if you have law enforcement agencies in place that are capable of carrying out a professional forensic investigation or of using innovative methods to prevent, investigate, and solve crimes. Japan does not, to any useful degree.

This a lot like the National Police Agency’s fantasy, of a few years back, that they could somehow tell whether or not a person was Japanese by checking crime scene DNA in isolation, without comparing it to anything else, that looking at one DNA sample by itself would tell you who you were looking for.

I bet the MOJ and a number of officials involved honestly believe collecting fingerprints and other biometric data will somehow magically deter or prevent terrorism all by itself. I would not be at all surprised to learn that no one had really thought through what they’d do with the data or how they’d use it to prevent terrorism. Ditto for the US. Stepped up airport screening, fingerprinting people - all of this is for shwo to keep the voters who are too dumb to think things through happy. It looks good. It assumes the ability of customs officials to know a terrorist when they see one or to know a terrorist by his fingerprints.

Bringing in a retired Yomiuri Giants pitcher to have his prints taken and miss the talking point message was a great sign of how woefully divorced from reality the people running this scheme are.

Comment by DeOrio

November 20, 2007 @ 9:50 am

On a different note, Alby, “Muji is a discount retailer”? Come on. I’ll grant that Muji is hardly a designer boutique or top-end department store, but discount it is not. Comparison pricing shows that. Muji’s prices on most items are at least on a par with most department stores. Muji’s (non)branded appliances are noticeably more expensive than similar branded items. Even the drinks and snacks are roughly on a price par with other similar products. I’ve seen Muji called a “Japanese discount chain” in a number of US sources, but I’m not sure whence this idea comes.

Comment by Ken Worsley

November 20, 2007 @ 1:14 pm

I’m not sure whence this idea comes.

From their own PR literature.

Comment by DeOrio

November 20, 2007 @ 1:41 pm

Which is just odd for the aforementioned reasons. I guess a better question would be why it is repeated. I have yet to see an American Muji, but in London they took the approach they take in Japan - promoting a certain simple style, as the name implies. The pricing system was interesting - they’d have, for example, a fork that sold for 495 yen (the Japanese stickers were on), then, to determine the London price, would add a decimal point, making that fork 4 pounds 95p, or over 1,000 yen - an absolute rip-off.

I’ve also noticed the New Yorker, Slate, and others describing UniQlo as a “Japanese fashion retailer,” which is not inaccurate, but certainly gives UniQlo a different image.

I still say Muji and Target are both discount retailers like both Chevron and the Sierra Club are environmental groups.

On a different Muji-related point, judging by self-selecting forums, it seems the brand is already developing a pretentious image, which is too bad - despite all I said above, I generally like Muji.

Comment by Ken Worsley

November 20, 2007 @ 3:36 pm

Within the context of their market, Muji definitely is a discount retailer. 12,000 yen suits? Cheap home appliances and furniture? They’re physically located next to the large department stores - at least their full size stores are, and they are a lower-cost alternative to the big department stores. Whether or not that will be conveyed at overseas outlets is another question.

Comment by bingobangoboy

November 20, 2007 @ 11:59 pm

I also didn’t really understand the characterizations of Muji. I like Muji & have bought a lot of their products, but they’re not especially cheap OR especially high-quality. Paradoxically, it’s the brand image / distinctive style that draws customers. Their competitors would probably be Ikea or slightly higher-end boutique-type shops, certainly rather than Walmart…

Comment by DeOrio

November 21, 2007 @ 9:37 am

I know little about Muji’s clothes, but their appliances are certainly more expensive than competing products, especially considering that they tend to be, in keeping with the theme, the most stripped-down possible versions of such appiances available. Furniture, bedding, dishes, stationery, and other household goods tend towards the expensive side. Not the most expensive maybe, but certainly above average. If you compare Muji to, say, Isetan and Mitsukoshi, which flank it’s large Shinjuku-dori store, yes, it is slightly cheaper, but go two blocks away to the Muji in the Seibu-Shinjuku Station/ Prince Hotel building and it’s the most expensive shop in there.

Muji’s non-brand is a brand for which, apparently 12,000 yen suits aside, customers pay a premium. As far as target market goes, Muji appears to appeal to young, white collar urbanites, much like Isetan in many of its ads and promotional materials.

Comment by Ken Worsley

November 21, 2007 @ 1:50 pm

Furniture, bedding, dishes, stationery, and other household goods tend towards the expensive side.

You seriously have to be kidding. Do you usually do your shopping at the Salvation Army? Seriously, compared to IDC, Fran Fran or any of the high-end designer furniture shops, Muji isn’t even half the price. It’s not as low as Ikea, but it’s a discount within the context of its market.

Comment by DeOrio

November 21, 2007 @ 2:56 pm

Ha ha! I’m comparing, for instance, a Muji washing machine with, say, a National washing machine like you’d buy at an appliance store, or a bed at Muji with a comparable bed at Nitori. I think the most fair comparison would be between comparable items at Muji and at a typical department store. I’ll grant you Muji’s cheaper clothes (largely because I just don’t know), but I’m starting to wonder where you shop.

IDC and Fran Fran are indeed much more expensive, but that’s kind of like calling a Cadillac a cheap car because it’s cheaper than a top-end Benz or an exotic car.

WHy don’t we do some comparison shopping at a variety of retail establishments? What do you think would be a fair list? I’d say:

- Dishes
- A bed & bedding
- A washing machine
- A suit (See? I’m throwing you a bone)
- A CD player
- A chair
- Some desk files
- Tea and pastries

I’d call that a representative sample.

Comment by DeOrio

November 21, 2007 @ 5:10 pm

To change the subject away from the fruitless bickering I’ve started, the first day of fingerprinting went off without any large apparent hitches, but reports from Shinagawa are of less-than-reliable fingerprinting equipment. The shoddy technology or shoddy operation of the technology would be another good reason to doubt the efficacy of this harebrained scheme.

Pingback by BizCast Japan #9 Released at Trans-Pacific Radio : Japan Economy News & Blog

December 2, 2007 @ 11:33 pm

[…] BizCast Japan #9 has been released over at Trans-Pacific Radio. Albrecht Stahmer and I sat down to discuss what’s going on in Japan’s business scene, and we think this is by far our most comprehensive discussion yet. Topics covered include the migration of Japanese brands overseas (Muji, Uniqlo), Toto’s marketing push in the US, misleading mobile phone advertising, the decline in construction of new houses and condos, Sony Financial’s IPO, what the effects of fingerprinting all foreigners might have on Japan’s international business hub aspirations, and… […]

Pingback by Sony’s Play Station 3 Outsold Nintendo’s Wii in November : Japan Economy News & Blog

December 3, 2007 @ 1:03 am

[…] Late last month, Steven Towns over at Seeking Alpha noted that during the weeks ending November 11 and 18, Sony’s Playstation 3 had outsold Nintendo’s Wii for the first time. This was also discussed in the most recent edition of BizCast Japan, when Albrecht Stahmer brought up the fact that Sony is now awash in cash, and that challenging Nintendo could be one possible strategic course of action for the firm. […]