The latest-model mobile phones in Japan are very convenient. They can be used as train tickets, prepaid cash cards, and credit cards. They can be used to check e-mail, take photographs, and handle calls. As more Japanese consumers replace traditional methods with cell phone technology, however, the security of information in the handsets is becoming more important. While losing personal information is a problem, lax security can also mean exposing information about business contacts and others. This can mean serious consequences in Japan, where a strong privacy law was enacted to allow prosecution of companies that allow leaks of data about their clients. According to Hitoshi Itakura, director in the product department of NTT DoCoMo, there the demand for protection measures increases as the cell phone takes on more of the functions of a wallet. The wallet-like services provided to customers on the firm's phones let them store money or credit-card information so they can buy things in stores or restaurants. While biometric technology, which uses body-part characteristics to confirm an individual's identity, is not new in Japan, it has only recently been applied to mobile phones. Japanese cell phone service providers do offer a locking mechanism that can be set off remotely. Users have to take the time to set it up. And a handset can be locked only when dialing from a few designated phone numbers.