Japanese Public Wary About Health Insurance Card Merger into My Number

Daisuke Nohara & Shingo Okuma from The Mainichi:

This December, in line with integrating Japan's health insurance cards with the "My Number" IC-chipped ID cards, existing ones will in principle be discontinued. A July 20-21 Mainichi Shimbun poll revealed that despite hopes for improved convenience and other benefits as part of the government's push toward a digital society, fears remain strong over data protection and other matters, and opposition to the government's handling proved more conspicuous than criticism of the new system itself.

Communication from government is key. But also actions (and in this case inaction) are important. The several My Number-related controversies over the past few years have severely impacted the public's perception of an already unpopular system. The Digital Agency needs better PR (and better quality assurance) to make the future of this system less bleak.