Mizutani, M., Dorsey, J., & Moor, J.H. (2004). The internet and Japanese conception of privacy. Ethics and Information Technology, 6. 121-128.

Citation

Mizutani, M., Dorsey, J., & Moor, J.H. (2004). The internet and Japanese conception of privacy. Ethics and Information Technology, 6. 121-128.

Annotation

This article by Mizutani, Dorsey, and Moor (2004) aims to explain how privacy is viewed in Japan. I think this is a particularly interesting paper because most of the articles and research done in almost all areas of study are done on WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) nations so it is refreshing to see research being done about privacy from an Eastern perspective. The authors outline that while there is a common misconception that there is no concept of privacy in Japan, in fact, their ideas about privacy are simply different than those held by Western cultures. Much like the west, Japan has customs regarding restrictions on access to information, location, and objects, however, most differences in privacy between Japan and America have to do with the roles of the individual versus the group. Western culture is inherently focused on the needs of the individual while the East has much more collective societies, with group loyalty being stressed above all. However, this difference can transfer over to issues surrounding privacy on the Internet because Japanese conception of privacy focuses on individuals being protected by a group, leading Japan to be slow on the uptake of online security. Additionally, coordination of policies is difficult given differences in cultures around the world.

Overall this article was easy to read and the knowledge level expected of the reader was low. The authors incorporated lots of history and context to their paper and explained any jargon or foreign words to ensure readers of all backgrounds could read the article. The references were used effectively and the pacing of the article was good, there were no spots that felt overly long or unnecessary. The only thing that I was disappointed in was there was no real conclusion/wrap up of the argument. The article just ends with no real sense of closure and it really could have used a section to further research about how privacy is viewed in other Asian cultures. However, I think this article is very important for those in the library and information science fields because it is one of the few articles that show the concept of privacy from an Eastern perspective. First, this is important because much research generalizes Western research to an Eastern audience but that is not right. And second, it would be good for those working closely with an immigrant population to understand that not everyone views privacy the same way and as information professionals, we need to help inform immigrants understand the laws and societal norms of our culture in order to help them better understand their new homes.

Areas / Topics / Keywords

Privacy, Eastern Perspectie, Group Loyalty