According to this post on the Asahi Shimbun, the Ministry of Affairs and Communications (MIC) has a proposal to run an experiment later this year, across the country using 2,000 cellphone volunteers, to record potential encounters between people infected with a contagious disease. From what we can tell, the proposed trial will track and collect GPS data for time and location so if someone is found later to be infected the agency, with some help from the telecom operators, would be able to identify and notify people who had may have had recent contact.

While theoretically this sounds at least possible, we can imagine the privacy issues that would be raised if it were to approach actual commercialization. Must be slow news day Golden Week in Japan!

Update: Then again maybe folks could just check with this handy online tool instead..

Related posts:

1. Pandemic Tracking via Mobile – Part 2
2. Japan Trials RCS Initiative
3. Pandemic Measures for the Enterprise
4. Japan Trials ATM for Mobile Phones
5. KDDI and Tokyo FM Announce Field Trials

Some sage advise when entering new turf; Stop, Look and Listen.. it’s also good to secure a local guide. Japan is the cradle of mobile civilization – we have been dedicated to this space since 2001 – trust our archives here offer some useful material.

Domestic activities continue to set the pace, and sharp players are looking at global markets. We have hard-earned industry expertise and trusted network of contacts with access to advanced intell. and potential deal flow. Need a lift.. Ok, buckle-up!