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Japan's govt. reports errors in linking 'My Number' IDs with bank accounts

The Japanese government has reported errors in linking "My Number" IDs with individuals' bank accounts for receiving public money payments.

Digital Transformation Minister Kono Taro said on Tuesday that the government has confirmed 11 cases in which "My Number" IDs were mistakenly linked to another person's bank account. He said the errors were found in six municipalities.

Kono blamed human error and said that no payments were made to the accounts. He said the Digital Agency will work with municipalities to prevent future mistakes.

The agency plans to check for additional errors, and call on municipalities to strictly follow the procedure manual.

Local government offices had set up counters to help people use a website for linking their bank accounts with their "My Number" ID cards. 

But with the latest problems, officials said some people did not log out after registering their bank accounts and caused the next users to link their IDs with other people's accounts.

The government had launched campaigns to promote applications for "My Number" ID cards. One of the campaigns offers points that can be used with cashless payment systems for people who link their cards with bank accounts for receiving various government cash allowances.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230523_36/