Japan Wants More People to Use Digital Identification
2022-10-27
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1Japan's government wants more people to sign up for digital identification cards (IDs), but the idea is unpopular.
2The government is asking people to apply for plastic My Number cards which have microchips and photos.
3The cards connect to driver's licenses and the public health insurance plans.
4Health insurance cards now in use, which do not have photos, will no longer be used in late 2024.
5People will have to use My Number cards instead.
6That change has created strong disagreement.
7An online petition demanding that the current health cards continue got more than 100,000 signatures in a few days.
8The digital card system began in 2016, but people have been slow to use it.
9Many Japanese worry their information might be stolen and that the digital ID violates their right to privacy.
10There are other reasons people are against the digital cards.
11Some Japanese prefer paper and in-person meetings.
12Many Japanese do business in person, using cash, and many offices require people to bring paper documents.
13Japanese traditionally value quality work done by hand, and many also carefully save documents, keeping them in well-organized files.
14Some say the current health insurance card system has been working well for decades and that going digital will create more work.
15Koichi Kurosawa, secretary-general at the National Confederation of Trade Unions said people would be happier with digitization if it made their work easier and shorter.
16However, he said that was not the case in many Japanese workplaces.
17After leaks of private information and other mistakes, many Japanese do not trust the government.
18They worry about the government having too much power.
19This is partly because of the history of authoritarian government before and during World War II.
20Kurosawa said people "are worried it will lead to tighter surveillance."
21Saeko Fujimori works in the music copyright business.
22She said she is supposed to get My Number information from the people she deals with, but many refuse to share the information.
23"There is a microchip in it, and that means there could be fraud," said Fujimori, who has a My Number but doesn't plan to get the new card.
24"If a machine is reading all the information, that can lead to mistakes in the medical sector, too."
25Getting an existing My Number digitized takes a lot of time and uses paper.
26People must fill out and mail back documents.
27Last month's deadline was extended, but only about half of the Japanese population have a My Number, the government says.
28"They keep failing in anything digital and we have no memories of successful digital transformation by the government," said Nobi Hayashi, a technology expert.
29Hayashi says the government's effort to get more people to get digital cards needs to be more "vision-driven."
30"They don't show a bigger picture, or they don't have one," Hayashi said.
31Yojiro Maeda is a researcher at Nagasaki University who studies local governments.
32He thinks digitization is needed, and My Number is a step in the right direction.
33"You just have to do it," Maeda said.
34Japan's Minister of Digital Affairs, Taro Kono, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press that more is needed to persuade people of the benefits of going digital.
35Kono said, "We need to win people's understanding so that My Number cards get used in all kinds of situations."
36I'm Andrew Smith.
1Japan's government wants more people to sign up for digital identification cards (IDs), but the idea is unpopular. 2The government is asking people to apply for plastic My Number cards which have microchips and photos. The cards connect to driver's licenses and the public health insurance plans. Health insurance cards now in use, which do not have photos, will no longer be used in late 2024. People will have to use My Number cards instead. 3That change has created strong disagreement. An online petition demanding that the current health cards continue got more than 100,000 signatures in a few days. 4The digital card system began in 2016, but people have been slow to use it. Many Japanese worry their information might be stolen and that the digital ID violates their right to privacy. 5There are other reasons people are against the digital cards. Some Japanese prefer paper and in-person meetings. Many Japanese do business in person, using cash, and many offices require people to bring paper documents. Japanese traditionally value quality work done by hand, and many also carefully save documents, keeping them in well-organized files. 6Some say the current health insurance card system has been working well for decades and that going digital will create more work. 7Koichi Kurosawa, secretary-general at the National Confederation of Trade Unions said people would be happier with digitization if it made their work easier and shorter. However, he said that was not the case in many Japanese workplaces. 8Privacy concerns 9After leaks of private information and other mistakes, many Japanese do not trust the government. They worry about the government having too much power. This is partly because of the history of authoritarian government before and during World War II. 10Kurosawa said people "are worried it will lead to tighter surveillance." 11Saeko Fujimori works in the music copyright business. She said she is supposed to get My Number information from the people she deals with, but many refuse to share the information. 12"There is a microchip in it, and that means there could be fraud," said Fujimori, who has a My Number but doesn't plan to get the new card. "If a machine is reading all the information, that can lead to mistakes in the medical sector, too." 13Changing to digital 14Getting an existing My Number digitized takes a lot of time and uses paper. People must fill out and mail back documents. Last month's deadline was extended, but only about half of the Japanese population have a My Number, the government says. 15"They keep failing in anything digital and we have no memories of successful digital transformation by the government," said Nobi Hayashi, a technology expert. 16Hayashi says the government's effort to get more people to get digital cards needs to be more "vision-driven." 17"They don't show a bigger picture, or they don't have one," Hayashi said. 18Yojiro Maeda is a researcher at Nagasaki University who studies local governments. He thinks digitization is needed, and My Number is a step in the right direction. 19"You just have to do it," Maeda said. 20Japan's Minister of Digital Affairs, Taro Kono, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press that more is needed to persuade people of the benefits of going digital. 21Kono said, "We need to win people's understanding so that My Number cards get used in all kinds of situations." 22I'm Andrew Smith. 23Yuri Kageyama wrote this story for the Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 24_______________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26apply -v. to ask formally for something such as a document, or a job or admission to a school 27license -n. an official document that gives the holder permission to do something 28petition -n. a document that people sign to show that they want a person, organization or government to do something 29cash -n. money in the form of paper or coin 30decade -n. 10 years 31authoritarian -adj. requiring people to obey rules or laws; not permitting personal freedom 32surveillance -n. the act of watching carefully or spying on someone or something 33fraud -n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something of value 34sector -n. an area of an economy that includes certain kinds of jobs or industries 35deadline -n. a date or time when something must be finished 36transformation -n. a complete or major change in someone or something 37______________________________________________________________________ 38We want to hear from you. 39We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 40Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.