Why do Japanese officials leak sensitive data while drunk?

Why do Japanese officials leak sensitive data while drunk?

Nights of partying often end badly, especially for government workers in Japan. In recent years it has happened several times that sensitive personal data was lost after a few beers. One such incident recently occurred in Yokohama, where a Finance Ministry employee went out with a colleague after work. According to that public broadcaster NHK the man had consumed nine beers within five hours. It wasn't until he left the restaurant, got on the subway and headed home that he realized his bag containing highly sensitive information was missing.

The loss of sensitive data

The Treasury Department disclosed the security breach this week, confirming to CNN that the bag contained administrative documents with the names, addresses and case summaries of 187 people, including a suspect allegedly involved in drug trafficking. The employee received the documents at a meeting on the same day. There was also a work laptop in the bag that contained personal information about him and his colleagues.

The ministry publicly apologized for the loss of trust and promised to hold the employee accountable. So far there are reports that indicate misuse of the lost information.

A pattern of security incidents

This incident is not the first of its kind. In 2022, another government employee lost one USB stick with the personal information of all residents of the city of Amagasaki, which is northwest of Osaka. The employee had fallen asleep on the street after an evening in the restaurant and when he woke up, his bag with the stick was missing. The USB stick contained the names, dates of birth and addresses of 465,177 people - the city's entire population - as well as sensitive information such as tax details and banking details of households receiving public assistance.

Drinking culture and technological backwardness

While these two incidents are particularly embarrassing, Japan reflects a deep-rooted drinking culture that is often linked to work culture. It is not uncommon to see groups of employees in suits drinking beer late into the night at izakaya bars or collapsing in the street after overindulging in alcohol. The Japanese Ministry of Health warned about the dangers of excessive drinking back in 2021, calling it a “major social problem.”

Marathon drinking events promote business relationships with colleagues and customers and are often crucial for closing contracts and forging relationships in the work environment. But this drinking culture is also a symptom of the brutal working conditions in Japan, where employees traditionally work brutal hours under immense pressure and accept stagnant salaries.

Outdated technologies and bureaucracy

Although the Japanese government is trying to reduce the pressure - including through laws to prevent Death from overwork and the introduction of one four day week for government workers in Tokyo – it's difficult to break old habits. This drinking culture and the outdated preference for analogue technologies means that sensitive data can be lost more easily.

The bureaucratic systems in Japan are notorious for being slow to modernize. This manifests itself in an adherence to technologies and systems that are already considered obsolete in many other parts of the world, resulting in the use of external hard drives, paper documents and other easily lost items.

An example of this was highlighted in 2018 when the then cyber security minister stated that he had never used a computer - a statement that quickly made international headlines. The gaps in modern technology became apparent during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the state's mass vaccination and testing efforts exposed the inefficiencies of paper filings and other outdated systems.

To address this, a digital agency has been set up to overhaul the government's internal system. The new digital minister declared one “War on Floppy Disks”; these were only removed from government use in 2024, long after other major economies stopped using them. The agency has also targeted fax machines and the traditional stamps used in place of signatures.