Japan's "My Number" national identification card system, already plagued with privacy concerns, suffered a further setback on Tuesday after the government reported two cases in which ID cards were erroneously issued to people with the same names as the intended recipients.
Although the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said that the cards issued in error were not misused, the cases also highlighted the risk that My Number cards could be abused by individuals pretending to be someone else when applying for social security or state benefits, or when undertaking tax procedures.
Those who received the wrong cards were not aware they had been issued incorrectly and only used them to obtain shopping points, offered under the government's program to increase uptake. The government has been promoting the ID cards as the country's "highest-ranking identification card."
"It was a mistake that should never have happened," Digital Minister Taro Kono told a press conference while urging the ministry to thoroughly review the cases.
The ministry did not disclose further details about the incidents, including which municipality it was in that the cards were wrongly delivered.
Normally, local governments issue My Number cards to residents after checking that the recipient matches the photo ID on the card.
Privacy concerns are already heightened over the My Number ID system following revelations of personal information leaks and registration errors, despite the government's push to increase its usage for digitalization purposes.
A Kyodo News poll over the weekend showed that a total of 71.6 percent of respondents were either "worried" or "worried to some extent" about the expanding use of My Number cards.
Some 72.1 percent called for postponing or cancelling the government's plan to scrap health insurance cards and incorporate them into the ID cards in the fall of next year, according to the two-day survey from Saturday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said there is no change in the government's plan to integrate health insurance cards into the My Number system.
"There are various advantages to integration. We will make preparations using thorough and precise data registration methods," the top spokesman said.
Under the My Number ID card system, a 12-digit number is issued to every Japanese citizen and foreign resident in the country which is linked to their personal data, including people's tax and social security information.
As of June 11, 77.2 percent of the population applied for a My Number card, according to the ministry.
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