Arab News Japan

Japan’s Digital Minister KONO Taro announced his war against the floppy disk on Twitter on Tuesday.

Kono said that the old-fashioned floppy disk, as well as CDs and MiniDiscs, are still required for over 1,900 government procedures in the Asian country.

The minister has vowed to purge Japan of the archaic habit in an effort to modernize the way people in Japan submit official papers and forms. Kono added that Japan’s Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio fully backs the initiative.

In his tweet he said: “Digital Minister declares a war on floppy discs. There are about 1900 government procedures that requires business community to use discs, i. e. floppy disc, CD, MD, etc to submit applications and other forms. Digital Agency is to change those regulations so you can use online.”

Digital Minister declares a war on floppy discs.
There are about 1900 government procedures that requires business community to use discs, i. e. floppy disc, CD, MD, etc to submit applications and other forms. Digital Agency is to change those regulations so you can use online.

— KONO Taro (@konotaromp) August 31, 2022

Previously, Kono waged a war against the fax machine and the traditional hanko stamps.

Sony officially stopped producing floppy disks more than 10 years ago, giving Japan no option but to halt their floppy disk usage. Many organizations have moved on to more advanced storage alternatives like USBs and cloud services.

Japan has previously dealt with digital illiteracy with its former cyber security minister admitting he had never used a computer in 2018.

Only in 2019, Japan’s last pager provider finally shut down.

Read more: Japan’s reform minister Kono to eliminate fax machines under new administration