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About My Number System

As the foundation of a digital society, My Number System is an infrastructure for realizing a more fair and just society by improving the convenience of citizens and improving the efficiency of administration. Information coordination among administrative agencies in My Number System enables the omission of attached documents in various administrative procedures.

Contents

1. My Number

My Number is a 12-digit number assigned to all residents in Japan who have resident records. My Number is used for administrative procedures specified by laws and ordinances or ordinance, such as social security system, tax system, and disaster response. My Number makes it possible to identify individuals accurately and quickly. In addition, by coordinating information among administrative agencies in administrative procedures, the number of necessary attached documents is reduced, and administrative processing becomes smooth, improving convenience for citizens. In addition, necessary administrative support can be provided quickly to those who need it.

2. Explanation of systems in My Number System

2.1. Information coordination

Information coordination refers to the exchange of information necessary for administrative procedures between administrative agencies using a dedicated network system (information provision network system).
This makes it possible for citizens and residents to omit the submission of documents in various administrative procedures.

Related Materials

*For information on individual administrative procedures, please be sure to check the pamphlets and websites of local governments and administrative agencies.

2. 2. public money receiving account Registry

Citizens are required to voluntarily register their savings accounts at financial institutions with the national government (Digital Agency) as accounts for receiving benefits, etc.
The account that can be registered as a public money receiving account is a deposit account in the name of the person * 1 and one account per person * 2. For eligible benefits, etc., please see the Benefits, etc., that can be received using the .

* 1 A savings account in the name of the principal
The only savings account that can be registered with public money receiving account is the one in the name of the person.
For example, you cannot register a savings account in the name of a parent as a public money receiving account for your child.
* 2 One account per person
Only one deposit account per person can be registered with public money receiving account.

When registering a public money receiving account, please also read the Terms of Use for Using the Account Information Registration and Linkage System .

For details, please refer to public money receiving account Registry .

Publicity material

2.3. Deposit account numbering system

The system for assigning My Numbers to bank accounts is a system for submitting My Numbers to financial institutions.
From around the end of fiscal 2024 (planned), by numbering bank accounts, it will be possible to confirm the location of bank accounts with My Number numbers at a single financial institution counter in the event of an inheritance or disaster.
*The numbering system for savings accounts is different from the "public money receiving account Registration System." The "public money receiving account Registration System" requires citizens to register their current savings accounts at financial institutions with the national government (Digital Agency) as one account for each person to receive benefits.

Publicity material

Related Information

2.4. Related information on My Number System

Materials and related information related to the handling of My Number are posted.

Handling of Specific Personal Information

Please refer to the following link for the proper handling of specific personal information (personal information that includes My Number).

Handling of My Number at Financial Institutions

*Materials created before the inauguration of Digital Agency are posted.

Provision of information by financial organizations (external link)

3. Safety Measures at My Number System

With regard to My Number System security, in addition to institutional security measures (such as monitoring by identity verification and Personal Information Protection Commission), we are taking systematic security measures (such as decentralized management of personal data and a system that does not use the My Number system itself for information coordination).

3.1. Institutional Safety Measures

  • It prohibits the collection and storage of personal information, including My Number, except as provided by law.
  • Personal Information Protection Commission, a third party organization, monitors and supervises the appropriate management of specific personal information, including My Number.
  • If you violate the law, you will face heavy penalties.
  • When providing the My Number, it is mandatory to confirm the My Number and confirm the identity, so it is not possible to immediately perform procedures using the My Number by impersonating the person.
  • In , Mynaportal, you can check the history of personal data exchanged between administrative agencies.

Related Materials

3.2. System Safety Measures

  • Instead of centralized management of personal information, as in the past, each information is managed separately, such as pension information at pension offices and local tax information at municipalities.
  • When coordinating information between administrative agencies, we do not use the My Number directly, but use a special code.
  • In addition to limiting who can access the system, we encrypt communications.

Related Materials

Raising awareness of scams taking advantage of My Number System

Call centers, local governments, and consumer affairs centers receive information on calls, e-mails, letters, and visits that attempt to take advantage of My Number System to illegally solicit or obtain personal data.

4. Recent Initiatives and Research on My Number System

4.1. Efforts

Expansion of My Number System in the Act to Partially Amend the My Number Act

The the Act to Partially Amend the My Number Act, which was promulgated on June 9, 2023, aims to expand the scope of use of My Number (the enforcement date varies depending on the content).

  1. Expansion of the scope of use of My Number
  2. Revision of regulations concerning the use of My Number and information sharing
  3. Unification of My Number Card and health insurance card
  4. Promoting the spread and use of My Number Card
  5. Addition of "furigana of full name" to entries in family registers, etc.
  6. Promotion of public money receiving account Registration (Establishment of Special Measures for Registration via Administrative Organs)
Related Information

Act for Partial Revision of the Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify a Specific Individual in Administrative Procedures (Act No. 48 of 2023) (the Act to Partially Amend the My Number Act)

4.2. Research

Survey and research on initiatives for one time use of administrative procedures using the common number system in foreign countries (commissioned survey)

As in the case of My Number System, some foreign countries have introduced systems to identify specific individuals by using a number assigned to each citizen (hereinafter referred to as the "Common Number System") for use in administrative procedures, etc. In this survey, we conducted a survey on the Common Number System in foreign countries and summarized its utilization status, specific systems, and future trends.

5. Roadmap after the introduction of My Number System

The Government of Japan will announce a roadmap for initiatives to expand the use of My Number System, My Number Card, and Mynaportal.

6. Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to frequently asked questions can be found on the following pages.

*For FAQs about the public money receiving account Registry, visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the public money receiving account Registry .