Taro Kono said he would expand his effort to rid the bureaucracy of outdated tools by phasing out records and moving administrative processes online. Kono, who has already made his disdain for fax machines and Hanko personal stamps clear, said businesses were still required to use discs to complete 1,900 government-related processes, such as submitting applications and other documents. “Digital Minister declares war on floppy disks,” he said in an English-language tweet on Wednesday. “[The] The Digital Agency is going to change these regulations so you can use the internet.” Kono told reporters this week that his agency would review the use of floppy disks and other disks “quickly,” adding that the modernization push had the support of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Japan isn’t alone in hanging onto floppy disks long after most businesses and government agencies have deemed them obsolete. The US Air Force replaced the floppy disks it had used to manage the country’s nuclear arsenal only in 2019, nearly a decade after Sony stopped making them. After being named digital affairs minister in a cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, Kono joked about the task of dragging Japan’s bureaucracy into the digital age. “Come on, there is no such thing in our highly advanced society,” he tweeted in response to a comment about his appointment. “Oops, my fax is jamming!” But there is no guarantee that Kono, a former foreign minister who has been tipped as a future prime minister, will banish the floppy disks entirely. In 2021, when administrative reform minister, he launched a personal crusade against hankos – official seals used to sign contracts and other documents – and fax machines, which he accused of burying national and local government bureaucrats in mountains of paper. Government departments have been asked to end hanko requirements for hundreds of processes, including tax adjustments and year-end tax returns, but reports say stamps and fax machines are still being used. Kono’s digital revolution has met resistance from officials who believe physical media offers a degree of authenticity that an email does not, while politicians in a region known for producing intricately carved hanko accused him of attacking a “symbol of Japan.” . Hundreds of government offices have said banning fax machines would be “impossible”, media reported, citing concerns about the security of sensitive information and “anxiety about the communication environment” if they switch exclusively to email. Floppy disks, too, have their champions. The disks “almost never broke or lost data,” Yoichi Ono, an employee at Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, told Nikkei Asia last year when the local government decided to phase out floppy disks and other physical data storage. The ward had previously stored information about payments to employees on floppy disks which were then taken to the bank for processing. Chiyoda, another Tokyo ward, said he would follow suit “within the next few years,” according to the Nikkei.
title: “Why Japan S Disc War Could Turn Out To Be Another Failure Japan Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-21” author: “Diana Wade”
Taro Kono said he would expand his effort to rid the bureaucracy of outdated tools by phasing out records and moving administrative processes online. Kono, who has already made his disdain for fax machines and Hanko personal stamps clear, said businesses were still required to use discs to complete 1,900 government-related processes, such as submitting applications and other documents. “Digital Minister declares war on floppy disks,” he said in an English-language tweet on Wednesday. “[The] The Digital Agency is going to change these regulations so you can use the internet.” Kono told reporters this week that his agency would review the use of floppy disks and other disks “quickly,” adding that the modernization push had the support of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Japan isn’t alone in hanging onto floppy disks long after most businesses and government agencies have deemed them obsolete. The US Air Force replaced the floppy disks it had used to manage the country’s nuclear arsenal only in 2019, nearly a decade after Sony stopped making them. After being named digital affairs minister in a cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, Kono joked about the task of dragging Japan’s bureaucracy into the digital age. “Come on, there is no such thing in our highly advanced society,” he tweeted in response to a comment about his appointment. “Oops, my fax is jamming!” But there is no guarantee that Kono, a former foreign minister who has been tipped as a future prime minister, will banish the floppy disks entirely. In 2021, when administrative reform minister, he launched a personal crusade against hankos – official seals used to sign contracts and other documents – and fax machines, which he accused of burying national and local government bureaucrats in mountains of paper. Government departments have been asked to end hanko requirements for hundreds of processes, including tax adjustments and year-end tax returns, but reports say stamps and fax machines are still being used. Kono’s digital revolution has met resistance from officials who believe physical media offers a degree of authenticity that an email does not, while politicians in a region known for producing intricately carved hanko accused him of attacking a “symbol of Japan.” . Hundreds of government offices have said banning fax machines would be “impossible”, media reported, citing concerns about the security of sensitive information and “anxiety about the communication environment” if they switch exclusively to email. Floppy disks, too, have their champions. The disks “almost never broke or lost data,” Yoichi Ono, an employee at Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, told Nikkei Asia last year when the local government decided to phase out floppy disks and other physical data storage. The ward had previously stored information about payments to employees on floppy disks which were then taken to the bank for processing. Chiyoda, another Tokyo ward, said he would follow suit “within the next few years,” according to the Nikkei.
title: “Why Japan S Disc War Could Turn Out To Be Another Failure Japan Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-28” author: “Constance Neault”
Taro Kono said he would expand his effort to rid the bureaucracy of outdated tools by phasing out records and moving administrative processes online. Kono, who has already made his disdain for fax machines and Hanko personal stamps clear, said businesses were still required to use discs to complete 1,900 government-related processes, such as submitting applications and other documents. “Digital Minister declares war on floppy disks,” he said in an English-language tweet on Wednesday. “[The] The Digital Agency is going to change these regulations so you can use the internet.” Kono told reporters this week that his agency would review the use of floppy disks and other disks “quickly,” adding that the modernization push had the support of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Japan isn’t alone in hanging onto floppy disks long after most businesses and government agencies have deemed them obsolete. The US Air Force replaced the floppy disks it had used to manage the country’s nuclear arsenal only in 2019, nearly a decade after Sony stopped making them. After being named digital affairs minister in a cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, Kono joked about the task of dragging Japan’s bureaucracy into the digital age. “Come on, there is no such thing in our highly advanced society,” he tweeted in response to a comment about his appointment. “Oops, my fax is jamming!” But there is no guarantee that Kono, a former foreign minister who has been tipped as a future prime minister, will banish the floppy disks entirely. In 2021, when administrative reform minister, he launched a personal crusade against hankos – official seals used to sign contracts and other documents – and fax machines, which he accused of burying national and local government bureaucrats in mountains of paper. Government departments have been asked to end hanko requirements for hundreds of processes, including tax adjustments and year-end tax returns, but reports say stamps and fax machines are still being used. Kono’s digital revolution has met resistance from officials who believe physical media offers a degree of authenticity that an email does not, while politicians in a region known for producing intricately carved hanko accused him of attacking a “symbol of Japan.” . Hundreds of government offices have said banning fax machines would be “impossible”, media reported, citing concerns about the security of sensitive information and “anxiety about the communication environment” if they switch exclusively to email. Floppy disks, too, have their champions. The disks “almost never broke or lost data,” Yoichi Ono, an employee at Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, told Nikkei Asia last year when the local government decided to phase out floppy disks and other physical data storage. The ward had previously stored information about payments to employees on floppy disks which were then taken to the bank for processing. Chiyoda, another Tokyo ward, said he would follow suit “within the next few years,” according to the Nikkei.
title: “Why Japan S Disc War Could Turn Out To Be Another Failure Japan Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-17” author: “Lindsey Velazquez”
Taro Kono said he would expand his effort to rid the bureaucracy of outdated tools by phasing out records and moving administrative processes online. Kono, who has already made his disdain for fax machines and Hanko personal stamps clear, said businesses were still required to use discs to complete 1,900 government-related processes, such as submitting applications and other documents. “Digital Minister declares war on floppy disks,” he said in an English-language tweet on Wednesday. “[The] The Digital Agency is going to change these regulations so you can use the internet.” Kono told reporters this week that his agency would review the use of floppy disks and other disks “quickly,” adding that the modernization push had the support of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Japan isn’t alone in hanging onto floppy disks long after most businesses and government agencies have deemed them obsolete. The US Air Force replaced the floppy disks it had used to manage the country’s nuclear arsenal only in 2019, nearly a decade after Sony stopped making them. After being named digital affairs minister in a cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, Kono joked about the task of dragging Japan’s bureaucracy into the digital age. “Come on, there is no such thing in our highly advanced society,” he tweeted in response to a comment about his appointment. “Oops, my fax is jamming!” But there is no guarantee that Kono, a former foreign minister who has been tipped as a future prime minister, will banish the floppy disks entirely. In 2021, when administrative reform minister, he launched a personal crusade against hankos – official seals used to sign contracts and other documents – and fax machines, which he accused of burying national and local government bureaucrats in mountains of paper. Government departments have been asked to end hanko requirements for hundreds of processes, including tax adjustments and year-end tax returns, but reports say stamps and fax machines are still being used. Kono’s digital revolution has met resistance from officials who believe physical media offers a degree of authenticity that an email does not, while politicians in a region known for producing intricately carved hanko accused him of attacking a “symbol of Japan.” . Hundreds of government offices have said banning fax machines would be “impossible”, media reported, citing concerns about the security of sensitive information and “anxiety about the communication environment” if they switch exclusively to email. Floppy disks, too, have their champions. The disks “almost never broke or lost data,” Yoichi Ono, an employee at Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, told Nikkei Asia last year when the local government decided to phase out floppy disks and other physical data storage. The ward had previously stored information about payments to employees on floppy disks which were then taken to the bank for processing. Chiyoda, another Tokyo ward, said he would follow suit “within the next few years,” according to the Nikkei.
