A Japanese minister in charge of cybersecurity has provoked astonishment by saying that he has never used a computer in his professional life and appearing confused by the concept of a USB drive.
Yoshitaka Sakurada, 68, is the deputy chief of the government’s cybersecurity strategy office and the minister in charge of the Olympic and Paralympic Games that Tokyo is to host in 2020.
However, in parliament on Wednesday, he admitted he does not use computers.
“Since the age of 25, I have instructed my employees and secretaries, so I don’t use computers myself,” he said in a response to an opposition question in a lower house session, local media reported.
He also appeared confused by the question when asked about whether USB drives are in use at Japanese nuclear facilities.
His comments were met with incredulity by opposition lawmakers.
“It’s unbelievable that someone who has not touched computers is responsible for cybersecurity policies,” opposition lawmaker Masato Imai said.
His comments also provoked a firestorm online.
“Doesn’t he feel ashamed?” one person wrote on Twitter. “Today any company president uses a PC. He doesn’t even know what a USB is. Holy cow.”
Another joked that perhaps Sakurada is simply engaged in his own kind of cybersecurity.
“If a hacker targets this Minister Sakurada, they wouldn’t be able to steal any information. Indeed it might be the strongest kind of security,” they said.
Sakurada has been in office for just more than a month, after being appointed in a Cabinet reshuffle following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s re-election as head of the Liberal Democratic Party.
However, he has already come fire for other gaffes in parliament, including garbling an opposition lawmaker’s name and repeatedly stating: “I don’t know the details” when questioned about his new Olympic brief.
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