Japan to Issue My Number Cards in as Little as 5 Days

Tokyo, Feb. 17 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government said Friday it will introduce an express service by autumn next year to enable the issuance of the My Number social security and taxation identification card within one week or in as little as five days.

The service will be available for newborns, those who apply for reissuance after losing their My Number cards, and people moving to Japan from abroad.

This is part of preparations for a plan to abolish the current health insurance card and integrate it into the My Number card in autumn 2024.

Currently, it takes around one to two months to obtain My Number cards.

Also on Friday, internal affairs minister Takeaki Matsumoto told a press conference that the government will extend its second reward point campaign aimed at promoting the use of the My Number card, by pushing back the deadline for applying for reward points to the end of May from the end of February.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]