The response to this year's national census, the first allowing people across the country to answer online, has exceeded the government's expectations while also raising fresh worries over sloppy handling of personal information.
More than 19 million households responded online during the 11-day window that ended Sunday, nearly double the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry's target of 10 million.
The ministry has been conducting the census every five years since 1920 to study the nation's population, and calls it "the most important statistics survey" for future policies, including welfare services and disaster prevention. It is supposed to cover every resident and household in the country, regardless of nationality.