My Number Card
On Wednesday, April 5th I received mail from the Nakano City Hall, the administrative district in which I live. I hate getting any government mail because the language involved is always very technical and beyond my conversational ability. Government mail is BAD NEWS!
The issue this time had to do with my My Number Card. The My Number Card is a smart card - resident identity system introduced in Japan in 2016 that is supposed to act like a Social Insurance Number or a Social Security Number in other countries. Every resident - both citizens and resident foreigners - is assigned a personal 12-digit number. The cards contain personal information like name, sex and address. It also provides access to tax records, medical records and health records.
At first, the cards were in paper form. But a credit card-sized plastic card bearing a photograph and acting as an alternate official photo I.D. was quickly developed. I received my paper card in the mail in 2016 and in 2018 I applied for a plastic card. The card is intended to streamline government services, to enable more services to be easily accessible online, and to make everything easier by introducing a universal system. From this year, 2023, the Health Ministry is further promoting the My Number system by forcing people to use it as a national health insurance card (“hokensho”) to replace the traditional paper health cards which are re-issued annually.
The rate of card usage was slow at first. By March 2023 the national government hoped to have almost the entire population using the cards. But some people - especially some foreigners - continue objecting to the My Number system on the grounds that it is Big Brother-ish. It represents excessive control by government of our lives, and also that it represents a privacy threat if the information is ever hacked, unlawfully accessed, released or mishandled. I disregard those objections because those concerns and accusations are wrong, over-estimated, over-blown, over-stated, and mis-directed. I mean, the objections reflect a lot of raging, groundless paranoic stupidity. I have little regard for stupidity. I admit I’m prejudiced. I don’t like stupid people.
The specific issue surrounding my April 5th mail was that the PIN number and the digital signature/password for my card were about the expire and I needed to renew them. This confused me, because my current card is valid until June 2028, ten years from the date that I converted my original paper certificate to a plastic photo I.D. card. But the people at the City Hall told me that my PIN number and Password were only valid for five years as a security measure. Is that a good or effective precaution? It seemed stupid to me, but … .
Whenever I have official, bureaucratic duties to attend to - passport renewal, resident card renewal, health insurance subsidy renewal, dependent declaration, income tax deduction and refund application, etc. - I habitually complain a lot because it’s tedious, and the language and paperwork involved are so advanced. And, the language contributes to the tedium. But when I actually accomplish the chore, it usually turns out okay - quick and painless. So, there are a few points to remember:
1. Don’t panic
2. Be patient
3. Give yourself plenty of time
4. Assemble your documents
5. Follow instructions
6. Ask for help if you need it (Japanese are usually quite patient and helpful, and often there
are assistance services available)