My Number ID errors found in disability certificate holders' accounts

Yet another problem has come to light in Japan's My Number national ID system -- this time, involving people with disabilities.

The welfare ministry said information on several dozen individuals with disabilities in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, were wrongly linked to other people's accounts.

It said the errors occurred when local officials linked information on disability certificates with the system's ID numbers of certificate holders. It said that some of the wrong linkage occurred between those with the same names.

The ministry said to link such information with the ID system, the Shizuoka prefectural authorities use disability certificate holders' names in kanji characters, pronunciation and birth dates to identify the system's ID numbers.

For those with identical names, prefectural officials are supposed to check the holder's address, but they reportedly failed to thoroughly take this measure.

The errors also included cases in which other person's disability status information was added to the rightful holder's.

The error surfaced after a user found his or her disability certificate information was not available from the person's My Number portal, and lodged a complaint with the local authorities.

The ministry says it has not confirmed so far if someone checked the wrongly-registered information.

The ministry has asked local authorities nationwide to check their procedure to link disability certificate information with the My Number ID system by July 20, and report by the end of September, if they find similar problems.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230620_25/