My Number ID system faces further setback with erroneous deliveries

How hard can it be to send the correct card to the correct person!!! It’s simply human error of the lazy incompetent Government workers in who create all this trouble.

 two cases in which ID cards were erroneously issued to people with the same names as the intended recipients.

So, they got each others cards, instead of the one's they were supposed to be issued? Cluster, you know what, again! Not so hard to check pictures, and date of birth information when they came to pick up the cards

The government has been promoting the ID cards as the country's "highest-ranking identification card."

How about "only" ID card for those without a drivers license! Dont say the insurance card, because there is no picture on them!

Oh it's about time Japan got an ID card, makes it easier to buy alcohol and cigs!

Under the My Number ID card system, a 12-digit number is issued to every Japanese citizen and foreign resident in the country which is linked to their personal data, including people's tax and social security information.

There is a poster here that continually refused to accept that the ID information includes "personal" tax and SS information, along with health information as well. It's only going to get worse!

Those who received the wrong cards were not aware they had been issued incorrectly and only used them to obtain shopping points

The card has a photo on it, are we expected to believe that they received the cards and didn't notice it had someone else's face on it?

Shopping points? Pray do tell.

"It was a mistake that should never have happened," (Digital Minister Taro Kono)

No word of a lie there, Taro-san!

People should be given a choice. I don't want my personal information on this card, because if the government messes up for myself and many other foreigners who cannot read Chinese character could be in a whole lot of financial mess and we will never get reimbursed. The government's response will be guaranteed "shoganai" "gomen nasai" and they will move on leaving us holding the bag.

Shouldn't it be Kono Taro, according to one of his many mandates?

We’re always told that Japan is a paradise of efficiency and technology. More like the fax machine and half truths

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said there is no change in the government's plan to integrate health insurance cards into the My Number system.

"There are various advantages to integration. We will make preparations using thorough and precise data registration methods," the top spokesman said.

Yes for the LDP there are various advantages.

a 12-digit private and personal number... that is ACTUALLY written right there on the card with your photo. Oh! But you get a plastic sleeve with a gray strip that covers the card if you keep it in the sleeve! It's almost like stealth tech, really.

We’re always told that Japan is a paradise of efficiency and technology. More like the fax machine and half truths

Some Chinese students were shocked when I told them about this broken my number system here in Japan that is extremely overly complicated to even use or access They told me they just use a QR code and that's it. No such card even needed.

The Japanese are world leaders at overly complicating things. And so much regarding taxes still impossible to do with the my number card. Try getting past 3 years of paid taxes. Nope. Several other tax related stuff I needed. Nope. Had to fill out a pdf and send it in to tax office through post office.

It's insane.

Incompetent Govt wastes trillions yens only for popularization, system has innumerable defects, benefit only relating corporations, general citizen are endangered even health and the lives.

This issue symbolizes present Japan.

We’re always told that Japan is a paradise of efficiency and technology. More like the fax machine and half truths

This is one of Japan's few great achievements - pulling the wool over the international community's eyes in regards to how futuristic and high tech they are. It draws people into the country hook, line, and sinker and then said people have to deal with the inevitable fallout made up of endless paperwork and apparently a faux social security system that was faulty from the get-go.

One pair of confused identities. Among how many? Not that many. Could have happened anywhere. So why is this even newsworthy?

so professional...but yes T I J /this is Japan/

The "My Number" system and its roll out is another failed Shinzo Abe policy that the nation is still dealing with.

Getting stuff done in Japan reminds me of a Japanese kids show that comes on in the morning.

Japan can sometimes feel like one large Rube Goldberg machine.

The card’s IC chip does not record sensitive information like taxes, and no central organization has access to all of the services and information that the card offers. IC chip contains only the minimum necessary information. No highly private information on “taxes”, “pensions”, or medical history etc. are contained.

You are not required to carry the card. Leave it in a drawer at home.

Further proof that big government is a very, very bad idea. Yet many people still think the government's job is to look after their best interests.

@Yubaru

How about "only" ID card for those without a drivers license! Dont say the insurance card, because there is no picture on them!

There's actually one photo ID you can get if the reason you can't drive is that you're disabled: the Disabled Person's Book or 障害者手帳.

This was one of the first things the government targeted when they started talking about converting all kinds of other IDs into the My Number card, and I remember being disgusted, because they were of course starting with some of the most vulnerable and underprivileged people in society. Thankfully, that merger has not happened (yet). Still, some corporations with online-only smartphone-only account openings don't accept it, taking only My Number or a driver's license, and no one seems to be addressing it.

In the UK everyone has a National Insurance number. In America, everyone has a Social Security number.

All My Number cards have a photo ID unless there are religious reasons preventing the taking of a photo. A card can only be renewed using a recent ID photo. Having the photo is better protection against theft than not having one.

Just ask the U.S. social security service about FRAUDS, every time you centralize data and link it to one access number or point you are making it a lot more easier for hackers, thieves, and scammers.

It's like having the same password or one PIN for all your credit cards and bank accounts. Good Luck.

I have a my- number card with no photo. I’ll try and keep it that way until I’m forced to get my photo

Confusing it with the paper version that was around for a while? That had just name and number on it. If your card is the plastic IC chip version almost certain it has to have a photo. It couldn't have been issued otherwise.

My Number is not centralized. The Residence Card required by all non-Japanese is centralized to a computer in Tokyo with every immigration office in the country with access to it.

My Number has a PIN number and a password.

They could have issued the cards and allowed people to decide how much personal information their own record had access to. The more access people allowed, the more convenience for them obtaining services. They could also remove access to personal information if they became concerned. Consensual ID.

We will need hybrid systems for a long time to come as not everyone is going to have a smartphone - some folk can't or won't use them or cannot afford them. Just accept it. Enforce digital and people will start to hate it, and those enforcing it.

The info in the IC chips is only the info that is physically on the card.

Paper versions vs plastic cards with IC chip

https://practicaljapan.com/my-number-card-what-is-it-and-why-you-need-it/

The plastic card with the photo is the My Number card. The paper one without a photo is a Notification card.

Grilledham&cheese

“The plastic card with the photo is the My Number card. The paper one without a photo is a Notification card.”

> man you are just spreading all kinds of misinformation today. Both types of cards are mynumber.

No, I am not, and posted a link to the My Number site which fully explains the difference between the Notification Card and the plastic My Number card.

Everyone received a My Number. Followed by receiving the Notification card which was issued to be exchanged for the plastic My Number card with ID photo and IC chip. They stopped issuing the Notification Cards in May 2020.

The Notification Card has the full name, date of issue, date of birth, number, and sex.

The Notification Card cannot be used as proof of My Number or as identification. It only serves to inform an individual of their Number. Not accepted for ID.

Many people exchanged it for the full My Number card.

These cards may be used when you are asked to provide your Individual Number (My Number) at an administrative office.

However, you are also required to present a document such as your driver’s license for identity verification.

In addition, if you obtain an Individual Number Card, you must return the Notification Card to your local municipal office.

> *From May 25, 2020, Notification Cards were replaced by Individual Number Notices.

If you have a Notification Card and the information on the card such as your full name and address matches that recorded on your certificate of residence, you may continue using the cards as proof of your Individual Number.

After May 25, if you have changed your name or address, you can show your Individual Number Card, a copy of your certificate of residence with your Individual Number listed, or a Certificate of Items Stated in Resident Register in order to provide proof of your Individual Number.

https://www.kojinbango-card.go.jp/en-tsuchicard/

xin xinToday  06:42 pm JST

One pair of confused identities. Among how many? Not that many. Could have happened anywhere. So why is this even newsworthy?

I agree always this tendency to make a mountain out of a molehill. This tendency is what makes life so stressful here. They are many reasons to hate this card but that a couple of cards were not given to the right person should not make top news,

A "venture" of this nature was always open to the risk of, let call it, multiple security failures.

Japan's My Number national identification card system, already plagued with privacy concerns, suffered a further setback on Tuesday after the government reported two cases in which ID cards were erroneously issued to people with the same names as the intended recipients.

Although the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that the cards issued in error were not misused, the cases also highlighted the risk that My Number cards could be abused by individuals pretending to be someone else when applying for social security or state benefits, or when undertaking tax procedures.

If this is not an admission of a failure to war game future potential flaws, associated with my numbers development teams to identify risk on implementation, then define otherwise.

The rule of thumb is to hold back applying for a My Number card.

The question remain no government would invest in an undertaking of this nature, the associated tax payer costs, without an agenda to integrate health insurance, pensions in fact every level of social security policy, direct tax, return and refund for employees/citizens.

The physical card, is irrelevant, Governments are notorious, hapless, wretched and ill fated keepers of our personal data on just about every level.

Politicians can sometimes spend hours in wonderment of what a computer function affects behavior's in modern day society.

@Mat not all cards have a photo attached. I have a my- number card with no photo. I’ll try and keep it that way until I’m forced to get my photo

Highly doubt it, unless you have a specific religious reason for it, and if that's the case I am surprised you are using the internet and participating on a web forum too.

AND if there is no specific reason why you dont have a photo, then it's a total mistake and your card is invalid as an identification card. Anyone could use it!

Complete nincompoops. I wouldn’t trust them to make a cup of tea, let alone handle my private info.

absolute scandal

My Number ID system, represents overreach that has failed from the outset to fully grasp how such a system could be open to abuse.

That is before, the threat/risk of data leakage, of outright breach of security.

One more point, using my number card at medical facilities will have all your medical history records in one place making easier for insurance companies to access that data and determine your insurance premiums. a friend told me this but i am not sure if that is possible!?

Just went in to update my card a month ago. Had to fill out the same form several times. They didn’t like that my name on my pension card didn’t match the my number card. I showed them all the cards in my wallet and told them to start standardizing their system. The Pension card accepted my form filled out in Romanji but sent me a card with Katakana. They selected the katakana, not me.

When I went in to pick up my card, I asked about the health insurance plan. They acted like they had no idea and said it wasn’t important. I asked them how they will create a secure system to protect my information at all these tiny little clinics? Again, I was told that was simply told that it was in the future and they can’t answer such questions. Useless.

@walllace

You are not required to carry the card. Leave it in a drawer at home.

If it's going to replace the health insurance card, you will probably need to carry it. When I had serious kidney stone pain, the ambulance crew refused to take me to hospital unless I showed them my insurance card.

One more point, using my number card at medical facilities will have all your medical history records in one place making easier for insurance companies to access that data and determine your insurance premiums. a friend told me this but i am not sure if that is possible!?

Hmm.... this might only matter for those who have an insurance totally out of the current Japanese health insurance system, which payments are based totally upon income and nothing else.

This may affect such a miniscule number of people that in reality it's a non-issue to the overwhelming majority, I'd bet, at least 99% of the people!

New system is bound to have a few hiccups Not every … thing is perfect like FFS…. Lucky he doesn’t actually live here… hence he has zero credibility on another …. Every issue.!.

She's taken my surname but my wife originally had a very common name, the Japanese equivalent of "Jane Brown". Abunakatta!

I'm emotionally invested in the idea of MyNumber cards meaning even just slightly less hanko use or that "get a juminhyo" type nonsense, so won't give up on it just yet.

'm emotionally invested in the idea of MyNumber cards meaning even just slightly less hanko use or that "get a juminhyo" type nonsense, so won't give up on it just yet.

Come on, be for real, just how many times in a year do you actually need to use an inkan?

I'm also for Japanese to finally have real ID system and not this archaic juminhyou system with it's roots in the medieval age.

But making tax and bank personal information mixed with health insurance is total nonsense. Health insurance should be separate just like pension, etc.

They stopped issuing the Notification Cards in May 2020.

That is what I have. It has a number and my address. When I received it back in 2017 I think it was there was a choice of just having that or applying for the card which has your photo in it. So far I've never been forced to apply for it. I've used the notification card with bank accounts and a recently opened account with a financial service company with no problem. They are just interested in the number on my card.