Poll of the Day > Japan's cyber-security minister has 'never used a computer'

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yoshitaka Sakurada made the admission to a committee of lawmakers.

"Since I was 25 years old and independent I have instructed my staff and secretaries. I have never used a computer in my life," he said, according to a translation by the Kyodo news agency .

The 68-year-old was appointed to his post last month.

His duties include overseeing cyber-defence preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

A politician from the opposition Democratic Party, Masato Imai, whose question had prompted the admission, expressed surprise.

"I find it unbelievable that someone who is responsible for cyber-security measures has never used a computer," he said.

But Mr Sakurada responded that other officials had the necessary experience and he was confident there would not be a problem.

However, his struggle to answer a follow-up question about whether USB drives were in use at the country's nuclear power stations caused further concern.

The disclosure has been much discussed on social media where the reaction has been a mix of astonishment and hilarity, with some noting that at least it should mean Mr Sakurada would be hard to hack.

Copied from: https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/technology-46222026
---

Ah, democrats. Always insulting people out of envy.
---

A man who has never used a computer is a man whose information is more secure than most of us.
---

Can't get hacked if you don't use a computer.
---

As much as I love the "go-getting" attitude of Japan as a whole (yes, I'm generalizing here, since the topic is societal in nature), the strange infatuation that they have with tradition and keeping things decidely old school in their behavior and attitudes is really a setback when it comes to something like this.

Honoring tradition on a holiday and doing things similar to how they did 6 centuries ago just for one day? Reasonable, interesting, and full of heritage. Refusing to adapt to the times and then being appointed one of the highest ranking positions for your country and thinking you're actually qualified? Almost hilarious, were it not for the massive risk that now comes along with this.

I get that all this guy has to say is "make the systems secure" and his subordinates will see to it that things are good to go, but for crying out loud, can you imagine having a meeting with this man trying to discuss something as simple as http vs https?
---

Troll_Police_ posted...

A man who has never used a computer is a man whose information is more secure than most of us.

From just some dude breaking in?
---

Humorous on the surface, but not that shocking. There are probably more people than not in management positions that don't know how their peons do things, and are just there to delegate.

japan is kind of backwards with some things. japan still had statute of limitations for murder until 2010. if you weren't caught within 25 years of killing someone (and you didn't leave the country during that time since it pauses the timer), then you got off free...
---

Red_Frog posted...

Humorous on the surface, but not that shocking. There are probably more people than not in management positions that don't know how their peons do things, and are just there to delegate.

Lol this,
Also, pretty sure that years back, the higher ups at Nintendo also admitted to never playing video games.
---

minervo posted...

Ah, democrats. Always insulting people out of envy.

Are you just a bad troll or are you so dumb you think the japanese democratic party and the american democratic party are the same thing?
---

TES_Nut posted...

minervo posted...

Ah, democrats. Always insulting people out of envy.

Are you just a bad troll or are you so dumb you think the japanese democratic party and the american democratic party are the same thing?

Are you so dumb you don't know the difference between uhhh poo poo and a pee pee?
---

Politicians not appointing positions based on qualifications?

Surprise!
---

That's fucking hilarious. It's a story you'd expect out of NK, not Japan
---

Zeus posted...

That's fucking hilarious. It's a story you'd expect out of NK, not Japan

I would have added "And our current Whitehouse," but then I realized the dude in question would have been more along the lines of promoting and creating malware, such as GameFAQs' advertisers.
---