Japan’s new cybersecurity minister, Yoshitaka Sakurada, left the world amazed when he admitted that he has never used a computer. Sakurada made this confession in a question and answer session at Japan’s Lower House cabinet committee. When he was asked about the basic things like power grid and malware, the minister could not answer. At one point he said that USB was never used in nuclear power stations of Japan. Most of his answers were so silly that the other politicians could not stop laughing. But no one expected him to admit that he has never used a computer before.
Sakurada told the committee, “I don’t use computers because since I was 25, I have been in a position of authority where secretaries and employees handle such tasks for me. I give instructions to my aide, and so I don’t punch into a computer myself, but I am confident our work is flawless.” To some extent he is technically right because a minister is not really required to do much work. But his lack of basic knowledge was what left everyone shocked. “I find it unbelievable that someone who is responsible for cyber-security measures has never used a computer,” said a politician from the opposition Democratic Party, Masato Imai.
News spreads fast on the internet, and social media users are quick to react to such events. As soon as the story got uploaded, people started expressing their disbelief, and some even started making jokes about it. One person tweeted, “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!” Another guy tweeted, “Today any company president uses a PC. He doesn’t even know what a USB is. Holy cow.” 68-year-old Yoshitaka Sakurada has been a Japanese Parliamentarian for a very long time and was appointed as a minister a month ago. As for now, his duties include the cyber-defense preparation of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
