日本办公室监控技术走向极端

    根据皇后大学的另一项研究，日本员工据说对国家的窥探采取了一种听天由命的态度，尽管一些人在小组讨论会上声称非常讨厌雇主侵犯自己的隐私。典型的反应是，“如果是出于安全目的，我真的不在意政府收集我的数据。”

    对当局的信任，以及公开辩论的缺失，无疑促成了一个胸有成竹的政府。日本政府最近强行通过了一项必将显著削弱言论自由的法案。这项已于上周正式生效的法律规定，泄露任何被日本政府视为国家安全机密的信息即构成犯罪行为。政府官员拒绝详细说明这项法律所指的机密包括类别，进而使得调查性新闻报道和举报几乎面临绝迹的可能，因为违法者将面临10年刑期。同时，来自反对党的激烈异议来得太晚了。

    日本首相安倍晋三认为，就堵塞泄密丑闻频发的政府机器而言，这些新的安全措施非常必要。此前，因日本政府的保密工作不力，美国一直不愿意与日本共享情报。

    但正如关西大学的小岛清所言，与朝鲜和中国持续发酵的冷战让日本陷入新的道德恐慌之中，导致政府寻求通过技术手段获得安全感。现在，外国人进入日本国境时需要接受电子拍照和指纹采集。一个未获权公开谈论这些议题的消息源透露称，NEC公司目前也在开发一种将让“美国堡垒”看起来像是玫瑰花环的边境控制技术。小岛清说：“因此，日本的监视市场对NEC、索尼(Sony)和松下( Panasonic)等电子公司极具吸引力。”

    对于战争、恐怖主义和普通犯罪的恐惧犹如乌云一般笼罩在日本国民的心头。推销全面监控，再也没有比现在更好的时机了。尽管日本是全球最安全的国家之一，但有违事实的是，日本人声称他们担心许多事情。在日本生活了15年的研究员伊万•波普列夫说：“日本倾向于使用两个层级评估风险，即‘安全’和‘不安全’，通常没有介于二者之间的层级。”

    事实上，过去60年来，这个国家原本就已经非常低的犯罪率一直在呈下降趋势。日本特别成功的社会凝聚力品牌促成了许多类似东京这样的人口密集型城市。东京街头显然非常安全，我们时常可以看到年仅6岁的孩童一个人步行回家。然而，这些孩子往往也是电子监控的对象——焦虑的父母通过移动网络提供的专用GPS软件跟踪自己的子女，这种现象在全世界可谓绝无仅有。

    NEC公司的宣传口号是“创新带来力量”(empowered by innovation)，但鉴于关心自身权利的日本国民少之又少，事实或许恰恰相反，日本有可能成为第一个“被创新奴役”(enslaved by innovation)的国家。无论本意如何，这种窥探都给滥用大开方便之门。目前并没有任何旨在阻止这种行为的措施。有一句格言说吗，日本是一个“被狼统治的绵羊之国”，如今看来似乎再贴切不过了。（财富中文网）

    译者：叶寒

    In another study from the University of Queens, Japanese employees reported feeling fatalistic about snooping by the state, although some voiced distaste for employer breaches of privacy during focus group discussions. "I don't really care about the government collecting data on me if it is for security purposes," was one typical response.

    Such faith in authority and a lack of public debate no doubt encouraged a confident Japanese government to recently railroad a new secrets bill into law that will significantly curtail free speech. The law, which went into effect last week, makes it a crime to divulge any secret the Japanese government deems vital to state security. Officials have refused to elaborate on what categories of secrets they are referring to, rendering investigative journalism and whistle-blowing nearly impossible, with offenders facing 10-year jail terms. Spirited dissent from the opposition came too late.

    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has argued that the new security measures are necessary to plug a notoriously leaky government machine, which prevents the U.S. from sharing intelligence with Japan.

    But, as Kwansei University's Abe points out, a burgeoning cold war with North Korea and China has thrown Japan into new moral panic, sending the state to look to technology to make itself feel safe. Foreigners are now electronically photographed and fingerprinted at Japan's borders. NEC is also currently working on border control technology that will make "fortress America" look like a ring of roses, according to one source who was not authorized to speak publicly on these matters.

    "So the market for surveillance in Japan is very attractive for electronic companies like NEC, Sony (SNE), and Panasonic," says Kwansei University's Abe.

    Gripped by fear of war, terrorism, and crime in general, there has never been a better time to sell total surveillance to what is one of the safest countries in the world. Yet Japanese people contend they have much to fear, contrary to the facts. "Japan tends to evaluate risks using two level scales: 'safe' and 'not safe.' Often there is nothing in-between," says Ivan Poupyrev, a researcher who lived in Japan for 15 years.

    In fact, the country has a very low crime rate that has been declining over the last 60 years. Japan's particularly successful brand of social cohesion has resulted in densely crowded cities -- like Tokyo -- where it is common to see children as young as six walk home alone in apparent safety. Although those same children are often subject, like nowhere else in the world, to electronic surveillance, tracked by special GPS software provided by mobile networks to anxious parents.

    Rather than being "empowered by innovation," as NEC would have it, Japan might be the first nation to be "enslaved by innovation" given that so few of its citizens care about their rights. No matter the intentions, such snooping opens the door to abuse. Nothing is being done to stop such behavior. The maxim that Japan is a "nation of sheep ruled by wolves" never seemed so apt.