Chapter 4 Measures for the Protection of Personal Data
1. Location of problem
The word "privacy" first came to be widely used in Japan in March 1961 when a court case was brought against Yukio Mishima for infringement of privacy in his novel, "After The Banquet". According to the judgement of the Tokyo District Court on 28 September 1964, "It is vital to ensure privacy so that everyone can maintain their individual dignity and seek happiness in today's society in which mass communications have reached such high level. For this reason, protection of privacy is not only demanded morally but is also regarded as a personal benefit that should be granted legal relief against unreasonable infringement. It should be included in individual rights and it is appropriate to call it one right." According to this judgement, the right to privacy was defined as legal security or the right not to have one's private life revealed.
On the other hand, at this time great interest was given to the new problem of privacy in Europe and the U.S. due to the improved performance of computers. It was not the conventional negative right to be left alone, but the positive right of the individual to control the flow of information concerning oneself. It is a matter of great importance in today's network society.
2. Measures for the protection of personal data in local governments
(1) Measures taken by local governments
The protection of personal information and data in local public organizations has long been a matter of major importance especially from the viewpoint of local government
1) Background
Osaka was the first city to introduce computers into local government at the municipal level in 1960, and Kanagawa was the first at prefectual level in 1963. Since then, many authorities have introduced computers. At the beginning, the information was limited to internal management business such as personnel affairs, salaries, taxation and statistics, that is to say fixed business, but later it expanded to include such fields as citizens' services, or
