PSN still down in Japan due to concerned credit card companies

Reports out of Japan state the reason PSN has yet to be restored in the country may be due to demands set upon Sony by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Per Andriasang, the Asahi Shimbun daily reports that METI and credit card companies want Sony to first detail the protections it has implemented for its customers credit card numbers. The report also states that Sony has finally started to cooperate with METI after repeated requests from the trade body.

Credit card firms are concerned because in Japan, the company issuing the card would be responsible for compensation should one of its customer's cards be used illegally.

In the US, Sony has an insurance policy which covers up to $1 million in damages should such a theft occur. This is not the case in Japan.

According to the report, Sony was at first not being very cooperative with providing card companies with the requested information, and the Japan Consumer Credit Card Association policy states that should credit card information become compromised, the company - in this case Sony - is required to notify the card company so it can monitor any fraudulent activities.

Sony has said there was a possibility that card data was leaked, but it has yet to find evidence of card fraud and during its continued investigation.

Andriasang reports that Sony plans to restart the online service in Japan some time this month, and details regarding any "Welcome Back" pack for users was unknown at press time.