Japan steps up push to get public buy-in to digital IDs

Japan has stepped up its push to catch up on digitisation by telling a reluctant public they have to sign up for digital IDs or possibly lose access to their public health insurance. - AP

TOKYO (AP): Japan has stepped up its push to catch up on digitisation by telling a reluctant public they have to sign up for digital IDs or possibly lose access to their public health insurance.

As the naming implies, the initiative is about assigning numbers to people, similar to Social Security numbers in the U.S. Many Japanese worry the information might be misused or that their personal information might be stolen. Some view the My Number effort as a violation of their right to privacy.