[Editor’s Note: See original story here: http://www.securityhive.com/civic-group-says-facial-recognition-project-at-osaka-station-a-violation-of-privacy/] – March 08, 2014 – A plan by Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NIICT) to implement high-tech camera software inside the Osaka train station building sometime next month has been delayed due to opposition from a local civic group.

NHK reported Friday that the group opposes the use of software capable of tracking individuals’ movements, and facial recognition photography because it is an invasion of individual privacy.

According to the plan, 90 cameras were scheduled to be installed in Osaka Station City with the object of tracking pedestrian traffic and congestion inside the station, and even assisting in evacuation efforts during times of disaster over a two-year period.

The NIICT said it had informed the public that the cameras’ photographic capabilities will only be used to capture overall pedestrian traffic, never any one person’s facial features, in particular.

Any information outside of those parameters would not be stored or used in any way. Despite this assurance, however, many university professors and other members of the civic group said that filming passersby in crowded public areas without their permission is something they could not support.

The group submitted petitions to both JR West and the NIICT. The NIICT said it has taken the widespread opposition and criticism into consideration and a committee of specialists is being formed to conduct an investigation into how the camera software and its functions can be amended and improved. […]