Japan Halts Administrative Services via National Messenger 'Line'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The Japanese government announced on the 19th, according to NHK, that it will suspend administrative services through Naver's mobile messenger 'Line' due to concerns over potential personal information leaks.

At a press conference held that day, Ryota Takeda, Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, stated regarding the personal information leak issue involving Line, which has become Japan's national messenger, "We will ascertain the facts and take appropriate measures."

Earlier, the Asahi Shimbun reported on the 17th that the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and other services used by Line was outsourced to a company in Shanghai, China, raising concerns that personal information could be leaked to China.

The newspaper reported that employees of the Chinese company had access to personal information such as the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of Line users stored on servers in Japan during the system development process.

Line, a mobile messenger operated by Naver's Japanese subsidiary Line Corporation, has 86 million monthly users in Japan and is considered the national messenger. The Japanese government and local authorities have been providing various administrative services through Line.

Takuya Hirai, Minister in charge of Digital Affairs, told reporters that day, "The Personal Information Protection Commission is requesting a detailed explanation of the facts from Line, including the provision of personal information to foreign third parties."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.