The government plans to compile a central database of all registered foreigners by 2007, aiming to improve services to foreign residents, sources said... The move will extend to all foreign nationals who arrived in Japan in and after the 1980s, and include current addresses and duration of stay, the sources said. The central database is expected to help facilitate services for foreign residents, such as promoting language training and social insurance programs, sources said. At the same time, the information could also assist in tracking down foreigners suspected in criminal investigations...Municipal governments will be responsible only for registering and managing data on Chinese, Korean and other residents holding special long-term residency permits...more...

The central database is expected to help facilitate services for foreign residents, such as promoting language training and social insurance programs, sources said.

At the same time, the information could also assist in tracking down foreigners suspected in criminal investigations..

dimwit wrote:I doubt that the program is anything more than an attempt to hassle permanent visa holders into applying for citizenship. My biggest objection to the said database is that I very much doubt its security and doubtlessly it is just another way in which all my personal information can be mined and sold to spammers and shammers.