https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/08/japan-declares-war-on-floppy-disks-for-government-use/

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War on the 3D-printed save icon --

Japan declares war on floppy disks for government use

In Japan, 1,900 government procedures still require submission on
floppy disk.

Benj Edwards - Aug 31, 2022 3:48 pm UTC

A floppy disk in the middle of a red circle
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Benj Edwards / Getty Images

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Japan's newly appointed Minister of Digital Affairs, Taro Kono, has
declared war on the floppy disk and other forms of obsolete media,
which the government still requires as a submission medium for around
1,900 types of business applications and other forms. The goal is to
modernize the procedures by moving the information submission process
online.

Kono announced the initiative during a press conference in Japan on
Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. Legal issues have prevented the
modernization to cloud data storage in the past, and Japanese
government offices often use CDs, MiniDiscs, or floppy disks to
accept submissions from the public and businesses. For example,
Japan's Mainichi newspaper reported in December 2021 that Tokyo
police lost two floppy disks containing information on 38 public
housing applicants. A digital task force group led by Kono will
announce how to fix those issues by the end of the year.

    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

Shortly after taking office earlier this month, Kono announced his
desire to modernize technology in the Japanese government, speaking
out about Japan's reliance on hanko hand stamps during the COVID-19
pandemic and fax machines instead of email. He's also been outspoken
about the subject on Twitter.

As a storage medium, floppy disk technology dates back over 50 years.
Sony introduced 3.5-inch floppy disks in 1983, and they typically
store a mere 1.44 megabytes of data in their most popular variation.
Sony stopped manufacturing them in 2011, prompting Taro to quip
during his press conference, "Where does one even buy a floppy disk
these days?"

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Benj Edwards Benj Edwards is an AI and Machine Learning Reporter for
Ars Technica. For over 16 years, he has written about technology and
tech history for sites such as The Atlantic, Fast Company, PCMag,
PCWorld, Macworld, How-To Geek, and Wired. In 2005, he created
Vintage Computing and Gaming. He also hosted The Culture of Tech
podcast and contributes to Retronauts. Twitter @benjedwards
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