TOKYO, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government on Tuesday decided to take more steps to enable people to use national identity cards in place of health insurance certificates at almost all medical institutions nationwide by March 2023.
The government plans to issue a roadmap in August which includes a series of new plans because currently the use of My Number identity cards, launched in 2016, is not as popular as expected.
In an effort to promote the use of the national identification system, the government will introduce a "point earning" function of the identity cards in conjunction with this October's consumption tax hike, which will include a variety of personal data, such as those related to taxes and social security.
Meanwhile, each municipality will have its own issuance plan in order to avoid any potential bottlenecks in the issuance of identity cards. Applications will be accepted in more locations, including public employment placement offices, driver's license centers and post offices, according officials.
The government also plans to launch a portal website, which allows users to log in and view details such as prescription records online.
As of May 30, only about 17 million of My Number ID cards have been issued in Japan, equivalent to 13.3 percent of the population. The official use of identity cards as health insurance cards will begin in March 2021.
