Nipponica

Even after the full transition to My Number health insurance cards began in December last year, the usage rate has remained low, standing at 30.64% of all health insurance card and certificate uses through online eligibility confirmation as of June this year.

Many elderly individuals have been reluctant to adopt the new cards, as they are often unfamiliar with both facial recognition and the entry of personal ID numbers, one of which is required to use the system.

In addition, medical institutions have frequently reported cases in which My Number health insurance cards became unusable due to expired electronic certificates, according to the national federation of health insurance medical practitioners' associations.

I’ve said for a decade now that the problem with My Number is not with the tech, but instead with educating the public on how to use it and how it will improve their lives. The e-services themselves are quite excellent and are always improving. But if people don’t know how to access them, the whole endeavor is pointless

Yonaguni Island, Japan’s westernmost remote island in Okinawa Prefecture, might not have a single doctor from next spring as the island’s only clinic will be unable to secure one, partly due to a possible contingency in Taiwan.

A Tokyo based medical association, which has dispatched doctors to the town of Yonaguni, has indicated that it would stop sending them, raising concerns among those living on the island, which is located only about 110 kilometers from Taiwan.

While it is understandable that many fear the impact of a possible war in Taiwan, an island community without medical care is not a community at all. Give them hazard pay, recruit from overseas, whatever is necessary to keep Yonaguni alive.