・Personal information
This concerns the privacy of individuals. Privacy is not an issue if an individual requests information relating to themselves. It is essential, however, to check and confirm the identity of the individual requesting such information to ensure that they are indeed the person that they claim to be.
・Infringement of interest
Special skills and technological know-how that if disclosed, would jeopardize the competitiveness of the enterprises which use them, must be protected. Without such assurance from the government, the private sector would not cooperate in providing information. This in turn would limit or hamper the governments information collection process.
(2) Standards for Disclosure and Non-disclosure
The standards for disclosure and non-disclosure should be stipulated by law. As ambiguity is unavoidable in matters such as these, it is conceivable, however, that the law might be open to different interpretations by various government bodies, even on the same type of information. To ensure consistency in information disclosure, it is essential to create a set of standards governing the extent of disclosure, the maintenance and disposal of information, etc.
(3) Disclosure Operations and Fees
While officers should attend diligently to each request for disclosure, daily operations may suffer if there are too many frivolous requests. One method of preventing potential abuse is to adopt the "user pays" concept and charge an appropriate fee for each request. The fee should not be so high, however, as to hinder the public from exercising their right to information.
3 Implementation of Information Disclosure
For information disclosure to be effective, it is not sufficient to merely set up a system and expect it to work as planned. Government officials themselves must fully understand the principles behind disclosure and adopt the following measures and work attitudes to see that it is carried out correctly.
(1) Retention of information
Information disclosure should not be confined to the final approved documents on any given subject. Work papers, internal materials, personal memos, etc., are all potentially subject to disclosure.
Each official is therefore required to properly order and retain their work papers and materials. Attempts to hide information from the public such as destroying data, using verbal negotiation in place of written documentation, etc., must be strictly prohibited.
(2) Speedy disclosure
It is important to disclose information fast. Late or untimely information might defeat the purpose of the request for disclosure. It is essential that government officials set a standard timeframe for disclosure, organize their material in an orderly fashion, and always be prepared to provide information at short notice whenever requested.
