A JAPANESE city has been left with more than a headache after admitting that a contractor lost a USB containing personal data on all 460,000 residents during a night out.

Amagasaki city today said a private contractor, whose name is not disclosed, was carrying the memory stick during drinks after work.

But the individual, who is working on a municipal pandemic relief programme, lost the bag containing the USB on Tuesday.

“We deeply regret that we have profoundly harmed the public’s trust in the administration of the city,” an official told a press conference.

The information was copied onto the memory stick to facilitate its transfer to a call centre in nearby Osaka.

It included the names, genders, addresses, birthdays and other personal information of all the residents in the city, as well as bank account information and tax data on some locals, said the city.

But there may be a silver lining, as the city said the data is encrypted and the USB locked with a password.

Officials said there is no sign that the information has been accessed so far.

The loss has been reported to police, who are investigating. – AFP, June 23, 2022.