Survilance techninics in Japan

This is probably a topic, what is most common probablem when talking about culture shock. People think they pictured or there is some sort of secret deal made about their lives.

I had a bad culture shock when I come Japan, and I started thinking how do they control survilance. I made couple high postition persons actually admit, that there is at least a phone survilance system; system only provided to help people under danger of gaijin and system only probihited to give information what are foreigners doing in Japan ? These are survilance systems which are told to excisist, what do you think ?

Is this etihical ? is there similar system in your own country ? Why such system excist ? and how does it affect your daily life ?

Thank you

As an old ELINT spook......

spying on people always interests me. I just got the March issue of "Popular Communications" magazine, and it has a big article on the Japanese governments SIGINT stations. Now days all governments spy on their allies, enemies, and their own countrymen. The problem , if anything, is too much info being gathered by governments.Satellites can read licence plates in todays world, if not your wristwatch. Cell phone conversations can be listened to by anyone with the right equipment. Wireless computer signals are the same, have the right gear and you can read anyone close bys PC. If you look around you when you shop, drive, fill up with gas, you are being recorded by cameras everywhere now days as part of security measures. I look at it , if I'm doing nothing wrong, why worry about it. Pretty much nowdays, no matter where you live, BIG BROTHER is watching.

Uncle Frank

I bet it is faster that google will provide a bit higher resolution of google earth image to see my house clearly than I buy a bigger one.

I disagree with Uncle Frank (for once) on this one. I feel increasingly uncomfortable about the amount of cctv cameras being erected at every corner...

In city centre areas where they're erected to counteract 'antisocial' behaviour, the behaviour moves to an area without cameras and continues as before.

It is getting to a point, in England, that we have security guards and CCTV cameras IN COLLEGE. Seriously, in my college campus, we have armed security guards that all sit in a booth looking at CCTV screens. You feel like you can't do anything, and it is basically a small town where you have to watch what you're doing all the time.

Uncle Frank said:

As an old ELINT spook......

Click to expand...

My interest in you just doubled

Also, as an ex-telephone company technician, it is incredibly easy to listen in on someones phone conversations, and it would be extremely easy to permanently monitor someones line without any indication or way of knowing (if you have access to the phone exchange and route a few wires hehe).

Quite often, the result of all these public snoopng devices and cameras is that Youtube gets a constant supply of fresh uploads and justice takes a backseat. We get to watch shocking street crimes and uhhhh........that's it. Also, the image quality is invariably low-rez and hardly worth the investment when you can't even see who the perp is half the time. If you're gonna put cameras in, how bout some NHK quality Hi-vision!! LOL