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The Mainichi answers some common questions that readers may have about the identification number system under consideration by the government.

Question: What is the identification number system, and what is it for?

Answer: It is a system where each Japanese citizen would receive a unique identification number from the government, to help in tax collection and the administration of pension payments, health care, and other social services. The government says the system "will allow a more accurate assessment of citizens' incomes."

Q: How will assigning ID numbers help the government assess incomes?

A: Under the current system, as proof of the accuracy of a citizen's tax returns, the person's employer submits documents showing the taxpayer's income from work, pension payments, money from stocks, and other information to a tax office. However, it is impossible to check all of these documents against the actual amount of money a taxpayer paid. However, if an ID number was attached to the documents, they could easily be found by using a search function on a computer, and the process of using them to check a person's taxes would be simplified.

More accurate assessments of income would not only contribute to tax collection, they would also be useful for social services such as assistance for low-income persons.

Q: Would the ID numbers eliminate unfairness in the tax system?

A: It is said the ID number system would help in assessing the income of people who receive money from disparate sources, for example company employees making extra money with jobs on the side or interest payments. There are limits to what the system could do, though. For example, to accurately assess the income of a self-employed small retailer, each time a customer made a purchase, he or she would have to first get the store owner's ID number, then notify the tax office of the amount, date and time of the purchase. It's not a very realistic scenario.

The system also wouldn't help much with the "Kuroyon problem" (nine, six, four problem), where while regular salaried employees are said to be taxed on around 90 percent of their income, the self-employed are in effect only taxed on around 60 percent of their income, and farmers only around 40 percent, because of the overlap of work and personal use of property and other factors.

Q: Unique taxpayer number identification systems are widely used in the West, but is there no such system in Japan?

A: Opposition to government handling of personal information has blocked the adoption of such a system here. In 1980, the government planned to adopt a mini-version of the ID number system for users of postal savings accounts that paid non-taxable interest up to a limit (this limited-taxability system was called "maru yu"). The government planned to issue what they called "green cards" with unique identification numbers to eliminate the possibility of abusing the maru yu system by creating multiple accounts under fake names.

However, people with large amounts of savings in the accounts were unhappy with the planned regulations and began withdrawing their money and sending it to accounts overseas. As a result, financial institutions and Diet members representing their interests fiercely opposed adoption of the system, and it was abandoned in 1985 without ever being implemented.

Even the "juki net" system, a nationwide network introduced in 2002 that only has a citizen's name, birthday, gender, address, and a code number, has not been adopted by a few local governmental bodies that say they are worried about possible leaks of personal information. It is essential that the government have a debate that recognizes the public's deep-rooted anxiety about privacy violations. (Answers by Hiroshi Hisata, Economic News Department)

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A timeline of main developments surrounding the ID number system

1980 -- Government passes legislation for a "green card" system to eliminate fraud on "maru yu" postal savings accounts with non-taxable interest.

2002 -- "Juki net" begins operation

2007 -- Abe administration advocates a social security number system

2009 -- Government confirms that it will reach a conclusion on an ID number system within a year, as part of a 10-year tax system reform plan

2010, June -- Several options for the ID number system are put forward