20% of municipalities improperly linked My Number card to disability certificate information

From The Sankei Shimbun

August 8 2023

TOKYO – On August 8, it was learned that about 20% of prefectures, government-designated cities, and other municipalities had improperly linked their My Number to information on disability certificates. On the afternoon of the same day, the government held an information inspection headquarters in response to a series of troubles surrounding the My Number system. The government will release an interim report that examines the procedure for verifying the identity of the person when attaching the number. The government will identify cases in which addresses were not verified and other inappropriate cases, and will proceed with inspections by the fall to see if there are any misregistrations.

Along with the interim report, measures to prevent recurrence of trouble are also presented. Mistakes occur frequently when manually linking My Numbers, and the government is considering formulating rules for registration procedures, requiring My Numbers to be entered when applying for various applications, and using digital technology to prevent errors.