Japan’s Minister for Digital Transformation, Matsumoto Hisashi, published a “New Year’s Reflection,” in which he shared achievements of 2025, such as increased uptake of the country’s semi-digital identity system, and plans for the upcoming year, including adding more services to the ID and expanding government artificial intelligence (AI) use.
Matsumoto began by praising the progress made toward ID digitization in Japan, along with plans to expand the functionality of the country’s system in 2026.
An increasingly digital ID
According to the Digital Transformation minister, Japan’s digital identity infrastructure reached a milestone in 2025 with more than 100 million My Number Cards (MNCs) now issued.
The MNC is an identity document issued to citizens of Japan and foreign residents, which contains a unique 12-digit Individual Number that serves as a national identification number. It’s used widely for administrative procedures, healthcare access, and private‑sector services, including bank account onboarding and cashless payments.
The scheme was launched in 2016, and as of this January, “with approximately 80 percent of the population now holding a My Number Card, the foundation for a digital society in Japan is considered firmly established,” said Matsumoto.
While the My Number Card is primarily a physical—a plastic card with a person’s photo and personal data printed on it and an embedded IC chip—it also supports digital functions. The IC chip stores electronic certificates that allow secure online authentication and procedures, such as submitting tax returns, logging into government portals, and using other e-government services.
MNC holders can also add it to their smartphone wallet to present it digitally in person or online, and Japan’s Digital Agency has instituted a Digital Identification App “to make identity verification safer and simpler by using MNC.”
In other words, it now functions as both a physical and digital ID.
Expanding the ID
Matsumoto went on to outline government plans for the MNC in 2026, which included adding more information and connecting more systems, deepening its digital utility, including healthcare digital transformation (DX) and nursing care DX, using the My Number Card as a health insurance credential.
“The system of “My Number Emergency Service” is already implemented, allowing paramedics to access patients’ medical information during emergency transport,” he explained. “Moving forward, we will promote the introduction of electronic medical records at medical institutions across the country, facilitate the secondary use of medical information, and digitalize procedures such as medical expense subsidies and maternal and child health.”
The minister added that the government hopes these efforts will provide higher-quality medical care, improve the efficiency of healthcare professionals, and promote drug development.
Other planned improvements to the MNC include promoting the registration of public money-receiving accounts for pensioners and initiating work on the design of a system for tax credits with benefits at an early stage.
Beyond the digital ID, as is often the case nowadays when discussing all things digital, AI was also on Matsumoto’s digitization agenda for 2026.
Expanded use of AI
According to the minister, the Digital Agency will cooperate with relevant ministries and agencies to promote the expanded use of generative AI in 2026, by providing “Gennai,” a secure environment that “allows government employees to use AI safely and securely.”
The name “Gennai” comes from the English abbreviation of Generative AI, or “GenAI,” and also refers to “Hiraga Gennai”, an inventor from the mid-Edo era in Japan.
The minister said the name “reflects our intention for this initiative to serve as a place where diverse innovations created through generative AI can come together.”
He added that the platform will be supported by improved access to government‑held data.
Ambitions and concerns
Summing up Japan’s digital transformation goals, Matsumoto said: “We will promote DX to maintain and improve essential public services, such as healthcare, child-rearing support, transportation, water and sewerage systems, and administration, despite the declining population. We will also prepare systems to enable smooth data use for AI, while ensuring a proper balance with information protection.”
However, he concluded by acknowledging the concerns some citizens may have about the country’s drive to digitization.
“We understand that some people may feel anxious or hesitant to digitalization,” said the minister. However, he assured those with concerns that the Digital Agency aims for “Human-friendly digitalization where no one is left behind” and considers it a crucial mission to clearly demonstrate the benefits of digitalization to everyone.
With this in mind, he said that his department would “work closely with relevant ministries and agencies to enhance digital literacy, including information security.”
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Source: https://coingeek.com/japanese-minister-lays-out-digitalization-plans-for-2026/
