According to Japanese news reports, Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Keizo Takemi said at the House of Councillors Welfare and Labor Committee on the 18th that it has nothing to do with the utilization rate of the "personal health insurance card" of the personal number card, and the current health insurance card (paper version) will be abolished in December, and the personal number card will be used uniformly. Although the Japanese government has decided to abolish the issuance of new health insurance cards from December 2, the utilization rate of the health insurance card function of the personal number card in March was 5.47%, which is in a sluggish state.
However, this card will be bound to everyone's bank information and tax payment information, which is why many people are reluctant to apply for this card. In the future, it will be easier for the Japanese government to grasp the problem of tax evasion, especially among the Japanese and Chinese.
This means that 94.53% of the population still uses paper health insurance cards. Even if paper health insurance cards are abolished in December 2024, there will probably be many people who choose not to hold a minor health insurance card or cancel the minor health insurance card they have obtained due to the risk of personal information leakage or unauthorized use.
Those who do not have an individual number card will receive a new "Confirmation of Eligibility", but its availability is almost the same as that of a paper health insurance card.
If that's the case, abolishing the paper health insurance card that most people want to continue using and issuing a "Certificate of Eligibility" to replace it is nothing more than a waste of taxpayer money.
Considering the administrative costs involved in issuing a large number of "confirmation of eligibility letters", keeping paper health insurance cards without abolishing them is the most efficient and economically sound option, isn't it?
In this regard, some Japanese netizens called this policy a failure. If Japan were a democracy, wouldn't it make sense to respect people's usage status and take appropriate measures?
Ignoring these fears and anxieties of the population and forcing the implementation of policies according to a "predetermined timetable" can be said to be a trampling on the will of the people.
Xiaobian believes that it is a good thing to promote the digitalization of the government to improve efficiency, but obtaining a personal number card is voluntary, the person in charge updates it every five years, and there is no place nearby to update it, which brings considerable difficulties. It is a burden of time and money for local residents. And there is no point in not wanting to abolish the existing health insurance card and to go through the trouble of obtaining a new eligibility card. As it stands, if a system can be established that can be used in conjunction with a health insurance card, it will reduce the burden of renewing your personal number card.
Some Japanese netizens said that the government, which 80% of the people disapprove, has implemented policies that are benevolent to politicians and tough on the people, such as measures against the declining birthrate, strengthening defense, increasing the burden on the people, environmental taxes, bribery fund incidents, etc.