Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday showed some flexibility about the abolition of health insurance cards currently slated for 2024.

The government will stick to its plan to scrap the cards by integrating them into the My Number personal identification cards around autumn 2024, Kishida told a press conference at the prime minister’s office.

But “we’ll make appropriate responses, including a review, if more time is judged to be necessary,” Kishida also said. He plans to make a decision after the ongoing comprehensive review of the problem-prone My Number system.

Under the abolition plan, so-called eligibility certificates, an alternative to the current health insurance cards, will be issued to all residents who do not have My Number cards integrated with health insurance cards, Kishida explained.

The government plans to set the maximum validity term for the eligibility certificates at five years while allowing health insurance administrators to set the period freely within the limit.

On a series of problems over the My Number system, such as mistakes in linking My Number and bank account information, Kishida apologized for provoking public unease.

The government will release on Tuesday an interim report on the comprehensive review of the My Number system, along with measures to prevent any recurrence of problems, Kishida said.

“We’ll do all we can so that My Number cards incorporating health insurance cards will be chosen by the public,” he said.

“We’ll push ahead with digital transformation in earnest once we restore the trust of the public,” Kishida said, stressing that Japan must not repeat its failure to respond swiftly to problems that arose during the COVID-19 crisis.

Before meeting the press, Kishida held talks with digital transformation minister Taro Kono, health minister Katsunobu Kato and internal affairs minister Takeaki Matsumoto.

Lawmakers of both the ruling and opposition camps had called on the government to delay the health insurance card abolition.

JIJI Press