Voluntary Return of My Number Card” Accelerates… Is it enough that “only some people are making a fuss” about the issue?
How significant is it to “give it back?” What are the precautions?
Since May of this year, there have been a number of problems with my number card, including problems with certificates being issued in error and problems with medical information of different people being registered with the “myna insurance card,” which combines the my number card and health insurance card.
There has also been a wave of criticism of the fact that the mina card must be read each time it is used and a four-digit password must be entered, and that the four-digit password is locked after three mistakes, requiring a visit to the municipal office of residence and an official certificate with a photo to unlock the card.
In fact, there have been so many problems that the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW) is urging people to bring their existing insurance cards with them.
Many people are concerned about the many problems with the Mynar card, and a movement to return the Mynar card is spreading, with “Mynar card return movement” trending on Twitter.
My number card is a “personal identification document…
But how significant is it to return it? We also asked Kento Sasano, a sustainability scholar who leads a group of geniuses researching and developing new SDG/ESG data science technologies as a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and one of the advocates of “Sustainability Studies” to apply SDGs to education and management, about the points to note when returning the card. He is also a member of the “Sustainability Studies” team.
However, one thing to note is that although the My Number Card was originally supposed to be a substitute for identification documents, it is currently not enough, and as a plus, you have to bring your driver’s license or health insurance card to return the card.
Besides, the fact that the application method for making the card in the first place can be done by mail or on the Internet, but the only way to return it is to go to the local government office, has become a system that imposes a large burden on each local government.
This is a basic premise in promoting digitization, but the burden and cost should not be imposed on a few people. The concept of SDX (Sustainable Digital Transformation) is lacking in recent years and in DX (Digital Transformation).
I think the underlying concept is a bit similar to the fact that taxes, for example, are collected as quickly as possible, but payment and support require very cumbersome applications.
Returning your “Mynacard” does not erase your “My Number” itself
However, even if the return of the MyNa card itself is easier than expected, the MyNumber (the national identification number) itself will not disappear. This point should also be noted.
The introduction of the My Number Card has its advantages. However, it is questionable whether there is an appropriate governance structure for this. In other words, ‘Who will be involved in the management of MyNumber Portal and MyNumber Cards?’ is a point that needs to be reviewed.
One of the most important purposes of introducing My Number Cards is, of course, ‘taxes. However, instead of being under the jurisdiction of the National Tax Agency, the Metropolitan Tax Office, or the Tax Office, it is the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications that manages the My Number Card, which is just an extension of the Juki Net.
Therefore, the place to return a my number card is also the resident’s section of the local government, and human error occurs as a result of the fact that the local government has to somehow work around the limited resources it really has.
In addition, although returning the My Number Card will reduce the “trouble of having one’s own My Number Card linked to another person’s My Number without permission,” it will not prevent the “trouble of having one’s own My Number Card linked to another person’s My Number Card without permission. This is also something you need to be aware of.
However, the “My Number Card Return Campaign” that is being developed through Twitter hashtags and other means will have a certain effect in terms of communicating the will of the people to the government in ways other than elections, and the government will have no choice but to take it more seriously than ever before.
There are various options, such as returning, holding, or not renewing the card. Of course, it is up to the individual, but if you do decide to return it, it would be a shame if it becomes just an outlet for your anger. If you have decided to return, I urge you to add your thoughts and information about what problems are actually occurring and what dangers there are, and please share this information with us.
Why? “It’s more inconvenient than a paper insurance card…”
To begin with, the major problem this time is the fact that the miner card and the health insurance card are a set.
For example, elderly people who have been using paper health insurance cards for a long time, have their own medication handbooks, and are not currently experiencing any problems, will not see the benefit of this new system.
Moreover, the following points are not well known.
- The paper insurance card only needs to be presented at the counter once a month, but the miner’s insurance card needs to be presented at every medical checkup.
- The facial recognition system of the miner’s insurance card is difficult to use for the elderly and people in wheelchairs.
- The questions asked of the elderly are more complex, and there are more items that need to be touched.
For example, if someone collapses and needs to be rescued quickly, such a lengthy operation may not save a life that could be saved. There was a trouble where someone else’s information was displayed incorrectly, but there is a possibility that the wrong type or amount of a pre-existing condition or prescription drug could be given out.”
Furthermore, as Handa Hospital in Tokushima was attacked by ransomware (October ’21), hackers are now attacking even local hospitals.
The situation is such that even local hospitals are now being attacked by hackers, as was the case at Handa Hospital in Tokushima (2009). We are in a situation where we have no time to wait.
If we don’t take stock of our operations and switch to a truly sustainable system management system, I think the situation could become even more life-threatening.
Experts feel that the “Mynar Portal Terms of Service” are malicious…
By the way, when I look at the mynar card, I am interested in various points. One of them is the PR character “Myna-chan” attached to the upper right corner. This is also not royalty-free, so the royalty fee must be paid to some company.
As you say, it’s not about ‘I want points,’ but about ‘Myna-chan. I don’t think there was a single person who registered not because they wanted points, but because they thought ‘Maina-chan is cute. If that is the case, if a private company were to spend money on such a project, it would be subject to a great deal of scrutiny from shareholders and other stakeholders.
Mr. Sasano also feels that the “terms of use” are malicious.
Initially, the former Article 23 (Disclaimer) of the “Mynaportal Terms of Service” stated, “The Digital Agency shall not be liable for any damages incurred by system users or other third parties due to the use of this system or the inability to use it. ‘ Of course, that drew considerable criticism.”
Rather than “malicious,” it simply looks like a sloppy copy and paste of a general company’s terms of service. ……
No, the reason I found it malicious is that general corporate offerings of services do not use this kind of writing style.
For example, if a service is not used as it should be used (e.g., in the case of identity theft), it is understandable if the company does not take any responsibility, but the phrase “I don’t know if anything happens to people who use this service normally” is not acceptable for a private company, It is rather on the level of the terms of service of a corrupt company.
Furthermore, there is no opportunity to carefully check the terms and conditions when applying for a my number card, and only those who search for the terms and conditions on the “MyNa Portal” homepage will be able to understand the contents. This is the way it is treated.”
Furthermore, in response to considerable criticism, the terms and conditions were revised unnoticed, and Article 24 (Disclaimer) of the revised terms and conditions states The Digital Agency shall not be liable for any damage suffered by the user or a third party as a result of the use of MyNa Portal, unless such damage is caused by the Digital Agency’s intentional or gross negligence. and furthermore, in the latest version, the same content has been changed more and more as the current Article 26 (Disclaimer).
What kind of terms of service is …… that keeps being revised repeatedly and unnoticed after you have applied for it?
The “Terms of Use” in the advanced countries of the My Number System are…
In contrast, Estonia, for example, has a system called “X-ROAD,” which is used to link individual databases and manage security, and is also used for medical information.
The prime minister, ministers, and other officials seriously consider the people’s interests in a way that is acceptable to the people, and since anything is possible, the people use X-ROAD almost every day.
The concept itself is completely different between Digital ID, which is a customer-first, people-first service, and MyNa Portal, which simply tells people what to do from above and leaves the management to the local government.
It’s not just a matter of “a few people making a fuss!
Despite all the problems, the “new miner card” will be introduced in fiscal year 2014. Can we just sit back and watch the massive amount of taxpayers’ money that will be invested there as well? …… Mr. Sasano makes the following suggestion.
If security is to be considered, a hybrid system of “integration with a smart phone that can also authenticate body parts such as fingerprints and faces and write information such as identification keys on the SIM card” and “a paper insurance card to supplement this” would be the most sustainable operational system. I think this is the most sustainable operational system.
The reason for the hybrid system is that Japan is a disaster-prone country, so the smartphone is utilized for normal management, and the paper insurance card, which can be used to verify personal information in the event of a disaster or other emergency, is also used as a W option.
On the other hand, if we have a strange adhesion or go too far, we will have to ‘add more and more people,’ and the probability of human error will also nudged up.
Do you really think you can gain the public’s trust by such a forceful method as consolidating to a single miner insurance card and abolishing paper insurance cards?
It is so bad that even a normal private company could be fired if it operates inefficiently developing systems for the benefit of a few, through collusion, etc., ignoring stakeholders in the coming era.
When we simply think of “Japan Inc.”, its source of funds is the people’s blood tax. It is important to properly accept the fact that the return campaign is occurring as a result of the use of that “trust” from the people. But if we trivialize the issue by saying, “It’s just a few people making a fuss,” then the problem that has come to light this time will become even bigger and more serious.
Kento Sasano is a sustainability scholar, SDGs communicator, and businessman, and one of the proponents of sustainability studies to apply the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) to management and education. He wandered the borderline between life and death during his high school years and was awakened to philosophy. After participating in the International Philosophy Olympiad and studying at the Kyoto University Faculty of Law and the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, he became the Director of the Institute for Sustainability Research (Sustainability Research Institute) and Representative Director of Scrumy Inc. He is currently engaged in research and studies for the realization of a sustainable society and the development of technologies for SDGs management and SDGs education programs.
Interview and text by： Wakako Takou
