Being a frequent visitor to Japan and thus knowing its people and culture fairly well, I thought it’d be appropriate for me to conduct a review on the new ‘taspo’ RFID cards which Yoshi also mentioned a while back.  The ‘taspo’ cards are being introduced in Japan in an attempt to reduce underage smoking.  They are to be used with cigarette vending machines. 

  For those that have never been to Japan, vending machines are abundant there and are used for many, many things besides just drinks or snacks.  (I’ve also seen alcohol vending machines).  To attain a ‘taspo’ card, a person of 20 or older must apply via a process which I assume to be similar to as getting a driver’s license here.  The card is printed with the member’s picture and the membership number.  Also, it has the optional feature of being able to store money on the card and making payments to the vending machines through that.  Since I didn’t research these cards too heavily and don’t know EXACTLY how they work, I’m going to make a few assumptions about how the they work.  There’s a good chance that they work just like the new RFID credit cards since it has the ability to make purchases.  Which means the vending machines themselves will probably be hooked up to ‘taspo’’s  main systems so that it can do the account balance logic (checking for sufficient funds, purchasing).  I’m guessing the membership number is also sent either in the clear or after being encrypted.