世論 What Japan Thinks

Toppan, a large Japanese corporation, published a press release relating to a survey they performed regarding views on financial institution security and Smart Card-based services. They questioned just 416 adults from Tokyo and surrounding area by means of a private internet-based survey over a couple of days in mid-November. The detailed survey results were not published, but instead the data was presented as a report, so will be translated in that form.

Note that an IC Cash Card is the Japanese term for a SmartCard-based ATM card. This definition excludes, I believe, credit cards with Chip and Pin functionality, and is sometimes associated with extra biometrics information – a good number of the ATMs in Japan are fitted out with fingerprint or vein scanners.

The bank I am with has recently changed their rules so that when using ATMs with a standard magnetic strip-based card, only (only?) 2,000,000 yen (£10,000 or US$20,000) can be transferred to another account per day, down from 5,000,000 yen per day; the same two million yen can also be withdrawn as cash. If using a Smart Card, the amount that can be transferred or withdrawn has been raised to TEN MILLION YEN, fifty thousand pounds or one hundred thousand dollars!

When asked if they had ever used an IC Cash Card, 28% of the sample said they had. 40% of men in their thirties and 53% in their forties had used them, making them the highest usage rate. 37% of those with salaries of over five million yen (above the national average salary, although allowing for the Tokyo cost of living it’s from a bit less than average, I think) were the highest users per wage band, although the wage bands that were used are not noted.

Of those who did not use IC Cash Cards, 73% of the total wanted to change to one, with men in their thirties and women in their forties being the keenest on upgrading.

Regarding knowledge of biometrics (生体認証技術, seitai ninshou gijutsu, in Japanese) just under 90% either understood the term or had just heard it, with most people associating it with a high degree of security. About 85% knew about the use of fingerprints as a biometric, and around 70% were aware of iris and palm vein-based checks. 70% of the respondents also said they did not have any feelings of opposition to the use of any biometrics; 16% opposed iris recognition and 13% were against fingerprinting.

Those people who have used IC Cash Cards were more likely to say, not surprisingly I feel, that they knew a lot about biometrics. However, there was no significant difference in the feeling of opposition to biometrics between the users and non-users of Smart Cards.

64% of those surveyed felt that there were insufficient measures taken to prevent the use of fake cash cards, and over four in five felt it was the responsibility of financial institutions to take steps to prevent card forgery and to compensate the victims for losses incurred. Roughly the same percentage requested that cash card and credit card security be strengthened.

From a security point of view, regarding where people were opposed to having ATMs situated, the top three low-security locations were inside convenience stores, inside railway stations and at discount stores, all gathering around three in ten of the votes. On the other hand, just under three in ten had no particular place where they opposed the siting of ATMs. The top three security measures people want introduced are biometrics, IC Cash Cards, and insurance against loss of money from accounts.