Passwords Now "Passed Down Three Generations" for SDGs Compliance. Subject to Inheritance Tax

A misguided interpretation of SDGs claiming that “digital resources are also finite” has finally elevated Japan’s cybersecurity to the realm of traditional performing arts. On February 2nd, the Agency for Cultural Affairs announced the designation of passwords that have remained unchanged for three or more generations as “Intangible Folk Cultural Properties.” Simultaneously, the National Tax Agency has decided to treat these aged passwords as assets subject to inheritance tax.

The trigger was the “Anti-Disposable Password Movement” by the environmental group “Green Keyboard.” Their claim that “frequent password changes waste memory storage and only increase the electronic graveyard” struck a chord with those pursuing a “mindful lifestyle.” As a result, like the secret sauce at an eel restaurant that has never been washed since its founding, a “Digital Folk Craft Boom” has emerged where people pass down (reuse) default passwords like ‘admin’ or ‘123456’ for decades, cherishing their vulnerabilities.

The Kagianna family, an old household in Taito Ward, Tokyo, has protected their Wi-Fi password ‘kaigyo_1868,’ said to have been set by their great-grandfather in the Meiji era, as a family motto. The current head of the family, Mamoru Kagianna (58), says: “Even when pop-ups urging me to change appear, I dismiss them as ‘blasphemy against our ancestors’ and keep pressing ‘Remind me later.’ This red warning screen is proof of years of dialogue with security software—it is wabi-sabi.” Kagianna’s smartphone reportedly bears access logs from hackers around the world, inscribed like tree rings.

In response to these developments, the National Tax Agency has determined that “passwords maintained for years without being hacked (or without noticing) have antique asset value.” Classic character strings like ‘password’ or ‘qwert’ are expected to receive high valuations due to their rare vulnerabilities. Under the revised Inheritance Tax Bill, each alphabet character is valued at 100,000 yen, and if no symbols are included, an additional 20% premium is applied for being “high purity.”

Major security companies were initially speechless at this situation but have now pivoted their strategy. They have shifted to a business model that markets “vulnerabilities (holes)” as “tourist attractions.” With the catchphrase “Your password has world heritage-class holes,” the “Cyber Pilgrimage Service” has become popular among the wealthy—a service that deliberately does not block unauthorized access and instead entertains invading malware in a tea room.

However, concerns remain. Once a password is designated as a cultural property, arbitrary changes (updates) are prohibited under the Cultural Properties Protection Law. Even in the event of data breaches, there is a high possibility they will be processed as “public exhibition of cultural properties.” The day when Japan’s proud spirit of “omotenashi” (hospitality) becomes fully open to botnets worldwide may be near.

Stakeholder Comments

• Mamoru Kagianna (Password Inheritor): “The courage not to change—that’s SDGs. Security warnings are merely elegant digital hanging scrolls.”
• Cyber Tatami Mat Corp. PR: “Vulnerability is art. Hackers, too, are travelers in digital space.”
• National Tax Agency Official: “Taxing the invisible—this is taxation innovation. Next, we’ll tax the very concept of ‘secret savings.’”
• Famous Hacker Group: “Japanese servers are comfortable. They have a homey feeling. It makes us want to wipe the tatami and leave without stealing anything.”
• AI Security Bot: “SHOULD I ISSUE A WARNING?…NO, THIS IS ‘TRADITION.’ CEASING INTERVENTION.”
• Eel Restaurant Owner: “Don’t compare sauce with passwords. We heat ours every day.”
• Digital Folk Craft Activist: “Look at the beauty of the ‘1234’ arrangement. No waste, a universal design that anyone can guess.”
• Grandson (Digital Native): “Grandpa’s password was in my school textbook as a ’negative legacy.’”
• Password ‘iloveyou’: “I have been loved and entered by many people. From now on, I will serve the nation as tax.”
• Server Administrator: “The error logs are bright red, but the boss says ‘This is autumn foliage,’ so we leave it alone.”

International Expressions

Haiku

• Ignoring the change / warning notifications / spring evening falls
• Password handed down / from father to child becomes / negative legacy
• Vulnerability / aged and fermented brings / depth of flavor out
• Even when hacked / never changing is the family’s / source of shame
• Tax office eyes / gleaming brightly watching for / hidden passwords
• Number of digits / determines the tax amount / spring storm arrives
• Even data leaks / if cultural property / are forgiven
• The good old days / protecting character strings / in Reiwa era
• Like secret sauce / passed down and reused still / authentication key
• Crying out for eco / the whole account receives / natural burial

Kanji / Chinese Characters

持続可能目標配慮 親子三代同一文字 秘伝垂流脆弱性 国税庁資産価値認 文化財指定漏洩御免

Emoji

👴📜🔑➡️👦💻💸🔒❌🌍♻️

Onomatopoeia

Clackety-clack…CLUNK! (inheritance) Ding♪ (warning sound) Silence… (ignored) CRASH! (sound of a safe opening, or hacking) Bubble-bubble (secret sauce) Cha-ching cha-ching (taxation)

SNS

• #MindfulLiving #PasswordInheritance
• admin/admin is supreme. No objections allowed.
• Our family heirloom password leaked, but we decided to call it an “exhibition.”
• Sold my password to pay inheritance tax.
• The security software warnings were annoying so I uninstalled it. This is Zen.
• Want to connect with vulnerability enthusiasts.
• Is it true older passwords are more prestigious?
• National Tax Agency, going that far lol
• #SDGs #TreatYourPasswordWithCare
• Security holes so bad even hackers give up and leave.