IPA IP 2022 Question 16

It cannot be changed freely — the My Number is a lifelong number fixed by the state.

Under Japan's My Number Act (the Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify a Specific Individual in Administrative Procedures), every person with a resident record in Japan receives a 12-digit Individual Number, the My Number. Its use is limited by law to social security, taxation and disaster response, and it is protected as specific personal information:

• •it is assigned by the municipality from numbers the state generates; the holder cannot choose it
• •it stays the same for life and is changed only in limited cases, such as when it has leaked and there is a risk of fraudulent use
• •businesses may collect it only for procedures the law prescribes, such as tax withholding and social insurance

Answer (d)

Why not others:

• •(a) — it follows the resident record, not nationality: foreign residents in Japan receive one, while Japanese nationals living overseas without a resident record did not
• •(b) — using it as an employee number is a use outside the purposes the law allows, which is prohibited
• •(c) — the number is generated and assigned by the administration; there is no way to pick one

Key rule: The My Number is assigned to residents, used only for social security, tax and disaster response, cannot be chosen, and stays the same unless it has leaked and risks misuse.

Legal Affairs · AI-written, may contain errors