Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Privacy and Personal Information Held by Government: A Comparative Study, Japan and New Zealand

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Practical Studies in E-Government

  • 1129 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter reports on the concepts of information privacy and trust in government among citizens in Japan and New Zealand in a transnational, crosscultural study. Data from both countries are presented, and cultural and other factors are sought that might explain differences in attitudes shown. In both countries, citizens display a range of views, not related to age or gender. New Zealand citizens express concern about information privacy in relation to information held by government, but show a higher level of trust in government overall, and most attribute breaches of privacy to incompetence, rather than deliberate malfeasance. Japanese citizens interviewed also indicated that they had major concerns about information privacy, and had considerably less trust in government than New Zealand respondents showed. They were more inclined to attribute breaches of privacy to lax behavior in individuals than government systems. In both countries citizens showed an awareness of the tradeoffs necessary between personal privacy and the needs of the state to hold information for the benefit of all citizens, but knew little about the protection offered by privacy legislation, and expressed overall concern about privacy practices in the modern state. The study also provides evidence of cultural differences that can be related to Hofstede’s dimensions of culture.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    See the Privacy Commissioner’s website at: http://www.privacy.org.nz/a-thumbnail-sketch-of-the-privacy-principles/.

  2. 2.

    Japan Times Online, March 18, 2008. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20080318a2.html.

  3. 3.

    This is one of the most common breaches of privacy in Japan. Much mail delivery from government agencies is outsourced. Source: Personal communication to the author by Japanese privacy researcher, Fumio Shimpo, University of Tsukuba, 21 February, 2007.

References

  1. Barnes C., Gill D. “Declining government performance? Why citizens don’t trust ­government,” Working paper, New Zealand State Services Commission. 2002. Retrieved 15 April 2009, from http://www.ssc.govt.nz/display/document.asp?docid=4549

  2. Bellman S., et al. “International differences in information privacy concerns: a global survey of consumers,” The Information Society, 20, 2004, p. 313–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bell. A., et al. World Internet project: New Zealand. International comparison 2008. Highlights from a New Zealand perspective. Wellington, National Library of New Zealand, 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Council for Excellence in Government. “A matter of trust: Americans and their government 1958–2004,” Washington, 2005. Retrieved 15 April 2009, from http://www.excelgov.org/usermedia/images/uploads/PDFs/AMOT.pdf.

  5. Cullen R., Reilly P. “Information privacy and trust in government: a citizen-based perspective from New Zealand”, Proceedings 40th Hawaii international conference on system sciences (HICSS 40), Waikaloa, Hawaii, January 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Cullen R. “Citizens’ concerns about the privacy of personal information held by government: a comparative study, Japan and New Zealand”, Proceedings 41st Hawaii international conference on system sciences (HICSS 41), Waikaloa, Hawaii, January 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Cullen R., Reilly P. “Information privacy and trust in government,” Journal of IT and Politics, 4(3), 2008, p. 61–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Dempsey, J.X., Anderson, P., and A. Schwartz. “Privacy and E-Government: A report to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs as background for the World Public Sector Report: E-Government”, Center for Democracy and Technology, Washington D.C., USA, 2003, from http://www.internetpolicy.net/privacy/20030523cdt.pdf, retrieved July 7th, 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Dinev T., et al. “Internet users’ privacy concerns and attitudes towards government surveillance – an exploratory study of cross-cultural differences between Italy and the United States.” 18th Bled eConference: eIntegration in Action. Bled, Slovenia, 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Freshfields, Bruckhaus, Derringer. Personal Information Protection Law, Japan. June 2005. Retrieved 13 June 2007, from http://www.freshfields.com/places/ japan/publications/pdfs/11704.pdf.

  11. GO2003. Government Online, a national perspective 2003 – New Zealand, Taylor Nelson Sofres. Retrieved 19 May 2006, from http://www.e.govt.nz/plone/archive/about-egovt/programme/go-survey.html

  12. Goodwin R. “Personal relationships across cultures”, New York, Routledge, 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Hernon, P and R. Cullen. Citizen’s response to E-Government, In Hernon, Peter Rowena Cullen, and Harold C. Relyea (eds). Comparative perspectives on E-Government: Serving Today and Building for Tomorrow. Lanham, MD; Scarecrow Press, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Hofstede G. “Cultures and organizations: software of the mind,” New York, McGraw-Hill, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Internet World Stats. Japan. Retrieved 12 June 2007, from http://www.internetworldstats.com/asia/jp.htm.

  16. Japan. Personal Information Protection Act 2003. Retrieved 12 June 2007, from http://www5.cao.go.jp/seikatsu/kojin/foreign/act.pdf.

  17. Kitiyadisai K. “Privacy rights and protection: foreign values in modern Thai context”, Ethics and Information Technology, 7, 2005, p. 17–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Lawlor J, Walumbwa F, Bai B, “National culture and cultural effects,” In Harris M. (ed.), Handbook of research in international human resource management, Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Milberg S.J., Smith H.J., Burke S. “Information privacy: corporate management and national regulation,” Organization Science, 11(1), 2000, p. 35–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Mizutani M., Dorsey J., Moor J. “The internet and Japanese conception of privacy,” Ethics and Information Technology, 6, 2004, p.121–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Raab C., Bennett C. “The distribution of privacy risks: who needs protection?,” The Information Society, 1998, 14, p. 263–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Tanaka A. “Does social capital generate system support in Japan?” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  23. United Nations. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Geneva, Department of Public Information, 1948. Retrieved 14 April 2009, from http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

  24. United Nations. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Geneva, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1966. Retrieved 14 April 2009, from http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_ccpr.htm

  25. Westin A. Privacy and freedom, New York, Atheneum, 1967, p. 7.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Information Management, Victoria University of Wellington, 600, Wellington, New Zealand

    Rowena Cullen

Authors
  1. Rowena Cullen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rowena Cullen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Information Systems, Telecom & Management Sud Paris, Evry, France

    Saïd Assar

  2. , Department of Information Systems, Institut Telecom, Evry, France

    Imed Boughzala

  3. , Information and Communication Science De, Free University of Brussels (ULB), Brussels, Belgium

    Isabelle Boydens

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Cullen, R. (2011). Privacy and Personal Information Held by Government: A Comparative Study, Japan and New Zealand. In: Assar, S., Boughzala, I., Boydens, I. (eds) Practical Studies in E-Government. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7533-1_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7533-1_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-7532-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-7533-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation