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Alsharq Tribune-AFP
The number of personal information breach cases in Japan hit a record of over 21,000 cases in fiscal 2024, a government panel's annual report showed Tuesday.
According to the Personal Information Protection Commission's report adopted by the cabinet, the number increased 58 percent from the previous year, highlighting inadequate protections in the public and private sectors.
Of the 21,007 reported cases, 19,056 were linked to the private sector, a 57 percent jump from fiscal 2023.
Meanwhile, public sector data leaks rose 68 percent to 1,951 cases, with many involving human error, such as mistaken issuance or delivery.
Personal data leaks involving the "My Number" national identification system soared to 2,052 cases from 334 in fiscal 2023, with unauthorized access to the MKSystem software, which supports businesses offering labor and social security services, accounting for 1,726 instances.
