- 14 Mar 2002
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Digital minister Taro Kono, currently on a crusade against fax machines, has found another foe: he's declared war on floppy disks – and faces opposition from bureaucrats. Some 1,900 government-related procedures, such as submitting applications and other documents, still require floppy disks.
At least he has a sense of humour.
Kono told reporters this week that his agency would be reviewing the use of floppy and other disks "swiftly", adding that the modernisation push had the support of the prime minister, Fumio Kishida. Japan is not alone in hanging on to floppy disks long after most businesses and public bodies deemed them outmoded. The US air force only replaced the floppy disks it had used to manage the country's nuclear arsenal in 2019, almost a decade after Sony stopped manufacturing them. After he was made digital affairs minister in a cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, Kono joked about the task of dragging Japan's bureaucracy into the digital age. "C'mon, there is no analogue thing left in our remarkably advanced society," he tweeted in response to a comment about his appointment. "Oops, my fax machine is jamming!"
At least he has a sense of humour.
Why Japan’s war on disks could prove to be another flop
Digital minister Taro Kono wants to follow up his bid to phase out faxes by getting rid of floppy disks – but he faces opposition from bureaucrats
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