Disks
Japan dumps use of floppy disks for official purpose
Japan has again demonstrated its leadership in the digital world, dumping use of floppy disks for official purposes.
This move reinforces the most basic facts of bureaucracy, that no organisation is more resistant to change and adaptation than the government.
Indeed, Japan’s Digital Minister, Mr Kono, “declared war” on floppy discs in 2021, and nearly three years later, he declared on Wednesday, “We have won the war on floppy discs!”
The square-shaped devices, introduced in the 1960s, fell out of favour in the 1990s when more efficient storage options were developed.
A three-and-a-half-inch floppy disc could only store up to 1.44MB of data.
More than 22,000 such discs would be required to replicate a memory stick with 32GB of data.
Kono’s agency was discovered three years ago, as the Japanese government realised how heavily it was depending on paper, fax machines, and other obsolete technologies while fighting the COVID-19 outbreak.
It remains unclear what the CIA will declare war on next as there appears to be numerous additional machines and pieces of technology that should have been wiped off the face of the earth years ago but have sought refuge in Japan.
Since taking over the position, Mr Kono has made it his mission to phase out outdated technology. He has previously stated that he would “get rid of the fax machine”.
Japan was formerly regarded as a technological powerhouse, but in recent years has lagged behind the global tide of digital transformation due to a strong reluctance to change.
For example, companies continue to prefer fax machines over emails; previous efforts to remove this equipment from government offices were rejected due to opposition.
The announcement sparked widespread discussion on Japanese social media, with one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling floppy discs a “symbol of an anachronistic administration”.
Sony, the last manufacturer of the discs, discontinued production in 2011.
Earlier report stated that Microsoft (MSFT.O) announced that it will invest $2.9 billion over two years to extend its cloud and AI infrastructure in Japan.