INTERVIEW: Japan to Abolish Health Insurance Cards as Planned

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)--Japanese digital minister Masaaki Taira reiterated that the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Dec. 2 as planned in a move to integrate them into “My Number” electronic personal identification cards.

“There is no change in our policy to proceed (with the abolition) as scheduled,” Taira said in a recent interview.

The remark came after the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan introduced a bill to the House of Representatives, the lower parliamentary chamber, to delay the abolition.

“There are many things that can’t be done without an IC chip,” he said. “A loophole should be closed as it is easy to cheat (with current health insurance cards).”

At the same time, Taira underscored the importance of the government making efforts to eliminate public distrust in problem-prone My Number cards.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]