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TOKYO, Oct. 25 (AP) Japan has stepped up its efforts to catch up with digital by telling a reluctant public that they must register for digital IDs or risk losing access to public health insurance.
As the name suggests, the program is designed to assign people numbers, similar to social security numbers in the United States. Many Japanese are concerned that this information could be misused, or that their personal information could be stolen. Some felt My Number’s efforts violated their privacy rights.
As a result, the system launched in 2016 never fully caught on. Fax machines are still common, and many Japanese use cash to conduct most of their business in person. Some bureaucratic procedures can be done online, but many Japanese offices still require a “stamp” or seal for stamping, identification, and insist people bring paper forms to the office.
The government now requires people to apply for plastic Individual Number cards with microchips and photos to link to driver’s licenses and public health insurance schemes.
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Health insurance cards in use today lack photos and will be retired by the end of 2024. People will be required to use an Individual Number card.
This sparked a backlash, with an online petition calling for the current health card to remain in use for a few days, attracting more than 100,000 signatures.
Opponents of change say the current system has worked for decades, and digitization will require additional work at a time when the pandemic is still weighing on the healthcare system.
But the reluctance to digitize extends beyond the healthcare system. After countless scandals about leaks and other mistakes, many Japanese distrust the government’s handling of data. They are also wary of government overreach, in part a legacy of authoritarian regimes before and during World War II.
Saeko Fujimori, who works in the music rights business, said she should have obtained My Number information from people she deals with, but many were reluctant to disclose. Given how unpopular it was, no one was surprised that she had difficulty getting this information.
“There’s a microchip inside, which means there could be fraud,” said Fujimori, who has an Individual Number but doesn’t plan to get a new card. “If a machine is reading all the information, that could also lead to errors in the medical field.”
“If this came from a trusted leadership and the economy was booming, maybe we would consider it, but not now,” Fujimori said. University of Tokyo professor Hidenori Watanave said people may have to undergo some drastic changes to accept such changes, just as Japan transformed itself into an economic powerhouse after its devastating defeat in World War II.
“There is resistance everywhere,” he said.
The Japanese have traditionally prided themselves on meticulous, artisanal quality craftsmanship, and many also devoted themselves to carefully tracking documents and filing them neatly.
“Too many people are worried that their jobs will disappear. These people see digitization as a denial of their past jobs,” said Watanave, who spells his last name as a “v” instead of the usual “b.”
The process of digitizing existing Individual Numbers proved time-consuming and very analogous. The form must be completed and mailed by post. The original deadline was extended last month, but only about half of Japanese people have an Individual Number, according to the government.
Consultant and technologist Nobi Hayashi said: “They have failed in any digital aspect, and we have no memory of the government’s successful digital transformation.”
Hayashi cites a recent example of Cocoa, the government’s COVID-19 tracking app that has proven unpopular and often ineffective. Digital outreach efforts need to be more “vision-driven,” he said.
“They didn’t show the bigger picture, or they didn’t,” Hayashi said. Koichi Kurosawa, secretary general of the National Federation of Trade Unions, a trade union group with 1 million members, said people would be happier if digitalization made their jobs easier and shorter, but for many Japanese it was the opposite. workplace.
“People feel like it’s assigning numbers to people, like teams have numbers on their uniforms,” he said. “They are concerned that this will lead to stricter surveillance.”
That’s why people say no to my number, he said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.
Yojiro Maeda, a co-researcher who studies local government at Nagasaki University, believes digitization is necessary, and My Number is a step in the right direction.
“You just have to do it,” Maeda said.
On Monday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida acknowledged concerns about the My Number card. He told MPs that old health insurance cards would be phased out, but the government would arrange for people to keep using their public health insurance if they paid for the health plan.
Japan’s digital affairs minister Taro Kono acknowledged in a recent interview with The Associated Press that more efforts are needed to convince people of the benefits of digital.
“To create a digital society, we need to work hard to develop new infrastructure. My number card can serve as a passport to open these doors,” Kono said. “We need to gain people’s understanding to make the My Number card usable in every situation.” (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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