Japan’s Social Security System ‘My Number’ Mistakenly Linked to Disability Certificate Holders in Shizuoka

From Jiji

June 20 2023

SHIZUOKA– Dozens of cases in which My Number personal identification numbers were mistakenly linked with certificates for people with disabilities have been confirmed in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka, the health ministry said Tuesday.

They are the first linkage mistakes involving disability certificate information that came to light in the country.

The ministry asked local governments across the country to report by July 20 on how procedures for linking My Numbers with certificates for people with physical disabilities, for people with intellectual disabilities and for people with mental disorders are carried out and report by Sept. 29 whether there are any linkage errors.

The Shizuoka cases included one in which local government staff mistakenly linked the physical disability certificate information of a person with the My Number of a different person with the same name and date of birth without checking other information, such as addresses, according to the health ministry.

No leakage of personal information has been confirmed.