My Number Cards in 2021

33 Responses

1. I got mine about 4 or 5 months ago, only because I had a little time and didn’t want to have to go through it later if people were forced to get them.

   I tried to use it this year for my year end tax stuff online, but of course the website didn’t work so I still ended up having to print and post everything along with a copy of the card, which I guess is about par for the course here….

2. The city sent a bunch of application forms to everyone in my house last week. That will surely fool a few more people into thinking they must get one.

   I will continue to hold out until a life event makes into impossible to avoid.

   On the medical expenses point, are the records up to date if accessed online? My insurer sends an annual statement around tax time, but it covers a period of October-September, when the tax year is January to December. This leaves me with a three month gap with no records (even though they wait until February to send the report) which needs to be evidenced by separate records, or filing a revised tax return when the following year’s statement is received.

3. I was easily bribed by the 5000 yen 🙂

   I do appreciate being able to print various government documents at the konbini instead of going to the city hall.

   1. Here’s an additional ¥5,000 worth of Rakuten Points for you 🙂
      https://www.rakuten-card.co.jp/cashless/mynumbercard-point/?l-id=corp_oo_header_to_mynumbercard-point_pc

4. See, I’m confused. When we got our My Number notifications a few years ago, I decided to make myself the test case in our family, and I got my card right away. But it expired like three years later, and when I used it for a procedure at the local city hall, the clerk there said “this is expired” and took it away from me. (This happened in 2017.)

   So now, I have no My Number card and no way to apply for a new one. As a result, I’ve refused to get cards for my wife and kids. The notification seems to be good enough.

5. Ben, you’re not alone, I’m waiting for it to be truly mandatory. Last year, the govt created the “Go To” campaign to offer people discounted travel if they had My Number cards. I happened to go to my Ward Office around that time and I saw people in line applying for their cards. However, it didn’t look like many people were signing up, and it didn’t offer enough value for me.

6. I applied for my MyNumber card a month ago. Just waiting for the postcard to go and pick it up from the city office. I haven’t been convinced by the arguments not to get one to be honest. It doesn’t alter the fact that I have a MyNumber number and having a plastic card instead of a paper one just makes it easier to use my MyNumber number when I need to. And with the 100,000 COVID payments, the possibility of making it smoother to get the vaccine, using it to go to the doctor instead of having a separate medical insurance card, using it for a driving licence, etc etc, the number of uses for the card is increasing. I don’t see much in the way of a reason to hold out any longer, and while the queue to get one isn’t ridiculous at the moment, it might be worth getting it done now before you need it urgently and there’s a three month wait.

   1. Picked up my MyNumber card this morning. Got some useful info I thought I would share. I was aware that the expiry date for the card would be the same as my current visa expiry date. I presumed that when I got my next visa, I would have to apply again for another MyNumber card. But you can just get the expiry date of the MyNumber card extended at the city office there and then without needing to apply again. However, you need to do this before the expiry date of the card. If you try to do it after that date, you will have to apply again for a new MyNumber card and you will be charged a fee. So if you were put off applying because of your visa expiry date, it doesn’t really matter at all.

7. I feel like I might have been the first person in Japan to get the plastic My Number card with a picture. In fact, I already had to update the chip. I find I had to use the card a lot early on to register “my number” at financial institutions to enable overseas money transfers. I also found it useful as an ID because my zairyu card seems to only last about a year before its number becomes unreadable and I have trouble getting it accepted as official identification at financial institutions. Because I don’t have a drivers license here it also helps as a photo ID (the front side without revealing My Number) for some applications. I don’t enjoy the idea that I am being tracked by the government but I figure they are tracking me anyway especially now that facial recognition software is widespread.

8. Not getting the plastic card either unless someone forces me too. As foreigners, we have more than enough ID to carry around and use. Does the My Number card replace our gaijin card? Will I have to show both if asked?

   I don’t drive and I don’t plan on changing my address. So far the actual My Number number itself is only needed for doing my taxes.

9. In my country (EU) you get your plastic SSN sent home the moment you are born. You need it for pretty much everything, including buying medicines and cigarettes at a vending machine (I don’t smoke). First time I came to Japan many years ago I was surprised I didn’t get one.

10. While I can understand your reluctance to apply earlier, now it is probably in your best interest “to bite the bullet” and fill out an application for your own MyNumber Card. I still do not understand why the government has not simply made it a requirement for submitting tax documentation. While “carrot” incentives may have been reasonably effective thus far, at the end of the day the “stick” approach will probably be the only way to ensure near 100% compliance. It is just a matter of time before a more punitive approach is applied.

    1. People here are distrustful of government attempts to control them. See the opposition to 住基ネット a few years back. The My Number system seemed to be headed for a similar fate until the Covid payments resurrected it.

       Personally I am going to wait. I’m sure the system will be improved, and it seems likely that cards will just be issued in the future (without needing to apply, pay a fee, or wait for an appointment).

11. Nope, not getting a plastic card until they are mandatory. I don’t want an all-in-one card, ever. The govt, at all levels, has yet to actually do things to show that it has much concern about keeping private information private. May as well mention, what can you do if the plastic card is lost or stolen? Who do you tell?

12. Thanks, but no thanks!
    As long as “they” don’t demand that card, I’m not gonna get it!
    Too much “personal transparency” in my opinion.
    Heading towards the “Orwell-world”.

    1. Sarcastic, but you do carry around a cell phone, don’t you? And do you use google, facepalm, and other ‘social’ media?

       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveillance_capitalism

13. Use My Number instead of driving license? Wow. I let my license expire several years ago while I was out of the country and now I suspect I’m too old (78) to get a replacement easily although I’d like to. But I imagine what you’re saying is the driver’s license info must be input into the My Number card before you can use it that way.

    1. The driving license thing has been proposed but not implemented yet. I believe the health insurance card integration is starting this week though.

       1. I heard the news that using the MyNumber card as the health insurance card has been pushed back to autumn because it was discovered that the necessary information had been input the “wrong” way and could not be read out properly. Were those doing the inputting not given the correct instructions? Duh.

          1. Of course it has… Par for the course! And this is why people remain sceptical: the government just keeps screwing up simple functionality and security.

    2. Unfortunately if you let your driving license expire and do not take steps within a year or so, you lose it completely and would have to do a driving course/take the driving test again from scratch.

14. Some people see “My Number” as a way that the government has to control them.

    Maybe because I come from a country where everybody gets an ID number and a card issued by the government from 16 years old, I don’t have any issues with “My Number”.

    I mean, let’s face it. The government has a lot of ways to control you. You have a SS number, a driving license, you pay taxes, they know how much you spend in medical care; the police will have your information forever even if you interacted with them only once, your passport, your koseki that the government keeps, etc.

    On the other hand, “My Number” is a tool that the government gives to you, so you can prove who you are.

    In countries where governments don’t provide ID cards to the citizens, people use alternatives, such as driving license or passports, but what if you can’t drive cars, or you don’t need a passport because you don’t want to exit the country?

    In countries like Estonia, your ID card also contains your digital signature, which allows you to perform all your bureaucratic procedures online.

    Everything to say that I don’t think that “my number” will change the amount of information that the government knows about you, and that it is a pretty useful tool once people gets used to it.

15. I have it. I need it to file taxes since I work part-time. I did Go To Travel a few times and saved money. Got to stay at a nice cottage in Yamanashi. Otherwise I would not have gone since it is expensive.
    I tend to just leave the My Number card at home so it is not so useful.

    1. You don’t need the plastic card to file taxes though: just having the number (paper card or jyuuminhyou) should be enough.

       Likewise for Go To: we used Go To a couple of times and My Number never came up at all.

16. I, too, will wait to get a plastic card. I moved last year and when I went to the city offices to update stuff, they just printed my new address on the back of the paper card and stamped it. I also got a new juminhyo then and a new health insurance card. I have a case full of cards now, don’t need any more.

    1. You were lucky to get that done in time. I believe the paper cards can no longer be updated, so if your address or other details change you have to get a plastic card or use a jyuuminhyou.

17. I’ve held off from applying for the plastic card until now, but I’m planning to send in my paper application soon. I wonder if the mynumber card will facilitate covid vaccinations once vaccinations are opened up to groups other than those in medical care. Also, the prospect of getting more of a kickback from purchases seems appealing. Any thoughts on the best deals for linking to mynumber cards to a financial institution? (I have rather long middle names, so perhaps Sony Bank will not work for me)

    1. I don’t think the plastic cards will have any bearing on vaccinations (if they ever get round to offering vaccinations to my age group!). The plans I have seen involved sending out postcard style vouchers by post.

       Also the Myna points seem to be a one-off thing rather than an ongoing way to get points/cashback.

       1. Yes, and what they don’t tell you is that you have to spend 2万 on whatever cashless platform you use to get the 5,000 points.

          1. Thanks for the replies. I’ve also heard that they pulled back on the plan to use My Number cards instead of health insurance cards.
             My gaijin card expires of May of next year, so even if I held out, it would only be for a year. I’ve sent my paper application in for the card. I’ll post here again if I learn anything more of potential use to others.

       2. Would you (or anyone) take a bet on plastic-my-number-card hesitation/refusal being correlated with anti-vax opinions? 😉

18. I got my plastic card today. I do not see any disadvantages to having it. I do not really know any advantages either, but my impression it was similar to the Social Security card in the US. What is the resistance about getting the card?

    1. The My Number system seems to have been set up in a fashion similar to the US social security system, but it has always been intended to be a “one identity number for everything” including pension, taxes, shopping points, driver’s license, and whatever else the Japanese government decides it needs to identify the user of. The J govt has not shown itself to be good at securing data of any type, or limiting who has access, so why connect more of your private data to this system?

       The US social security number was first to be used only to identify you for income from which social security payments are made. There has been some creep of use by banks and the IRS asking for your SSN.