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FAQs: About My Number System (Overview)

  • Q & amp; A is added at any time.
  • At the end of each response, (Response in X, 20 xx) is indicated. Some responses were made before August 2021, but these responses were made on the Digital Agency website before the establishment of the Cabinet Office.

Q1-1 What is the My Number (Individual Number)?

A1-1

The My Number is a 12-digit number for each person who has a resident record. It can be used for administrative procedures specified in law or regulation, such as social security system, tax system, and disaster response. By introducing a cross-sectoral number, it will be possible to identify and confirm the personal data of the same person in a reliable and prompt manner through the exchange of information across institutions, thereby improving convenience for the people, efficiency administration, and realizing a fair and just society.
(Updated June 2023)

Q1-2 What changed before and after the introduction of My Number System?

A1-2

Before the introduction of My Number System, for example, information was exchanged between public authorities and local governments in the country to confirm whether or not a person was eligible for welfare services or social insurance premium reduction and exemption. However, within each organization, personal information was managed by each number, such as Resident Register Code, basic pensions number, and medical care insured number. Therefore, when exchanging information across organizations, time and effort were spent on identifying individuals by name, address, and so on.

By introducing a common number across fields for administrative procedures specified in law or regulation, such as social security system, tax system, and disaster response, it will be possible to identify individuals reliably and quickly. This will improve convenience for the people, efficiency administration, and realize a fair and just society.
(Updated June 2023)

Q1-3 What are the specific benefits of the introduction of My Number System?

A1-3

There are three main advantages of My Number.
The first is the efficiency of the administration, and the allocation of people and financial resources to national services.

The second is to improve the convenience of citizens by reducing the number of attached documents in administrative procedures related to social security and taxes and by providing notification services through Mynaportal.

The third is to realize a fair and just society by design a delicate social security system by grasping income more accurately than before.
In addition, My Number Card and Mynaportal can be used without using the My Number itself, and we will make maximum use of them as an important foundation of private sector, including digital society utilization.
(Updated December 2022)

Q1-4: When do you use your My Number?

A1-4

Who can use the My Number and in what situations is determined by law and regulation. To be specific, public authorities and local governments in the country will use the My Number through administrative procedures specified by law or regulation, such as social security system, tax system, and disaster response. Citizens are required to enter the My Number in applications for pensions, employment insurance, medical care insurance, public assistance, child allowances and other welfare benefits, final tax returns, and other tax procedures.

In addition, there are cases in which the employer or financial institution where the employee works carries out procedures for tax or social insurance on behalf of the individual, and the My Number may be presented to financial institutions with which the employee has certain transactions, in addition to the employer.
(Updated June 2023)

Q1-5 In My Number System, will administrative staff be able to see my savings and assets?

A1-5

Since public authorities, etc. can confirm the balance of personal accounts only when conducting necessary investigations based on law (such as social security means investigation and tax investigation), the introduction of My Number System does not mean that administrative officials will be able to newly see deposits, savings, assets, etc.
(Updated June 2023)

Q1-6 Is it true that my second job will be discovered by my company in My Number System?

A1-6

My Number System does not cause any change in local tax-related procedures, and it does not newly reveal the fact that My Number System conducts a secondary business.

Even before the introduction of the My Number System, the amount of resident tax, etc. was notified to the taxpayer via the salary payer by the notice for determination of the special collection amount, and since this notice contains the total amount of salary and income of the previous year, it is considered that the fact that the taxpayer is engaged in a secondary business may have been revealed by comparing the amount of salary paid by the company where the taxpayer works.
(Updated June 2023)

Q1-7 Can I provide my My Number to anyone?

A1-7

As a general rule, the provision of My Number is restricted, except for cases where My Number is provided to social security system, tax system, disaster response, etc., for the purpose of procedures specified by law or regulation. Specific recipients who can provide My Number for these procedures may be tax offices, local governments, HelloWork, pensions offices, health insurance societies, workplaces, financial institutions, etc. public authorities

Even if your My Number is seen or leaked by others, you cannot use your My Number alone for procedures, so you cannot extract information or immediately misuse it. However, publicizing your My Number on your personal blog or SNS may be equivalent to "providing" your My Number to a third party and may be a violation of law, so please refrain from doing so.
(Updated June 2023)

Q1-8 What should I be aware of when handling My Number?

A1-8

Please refrain from recklessly providing your My Number to a third party.

When notifying or using your My Number or going through procedures such as My Number Card Issue, public authorities will never ask you for your account number, account PIN, income information, family structure, pensions or insurance information, or ask you for money or a cash card. We will never ask you to operate a bank ATM. Please be sure not to answer any phone calls, letters, emails, or visits of this nature.
(Updated June 2023)

Q1-9 Does the use of My Number make it unnecessary to attach a Copy of Resident Record and Taxation Certificate?

A1-9

In November 2017, full-scale operation of the information linkages began in local governments and other prefectures, and it has become possible to omit documents such as a copy of the resident's certificate that had been required to be submitted in the past by administrative procedures specified in law or regulation, such as social security system, tax system, and disaster response.
(Updated June 2023)

Q1-10: What are "persons in charge of clerical affairs using Individual Numbers" and "persons in charge of clerical affairs related to Individual Numbers" prescribed in the My Number Act?

A1-10

"Person in charge of clerical affairs using Individual Numbers" refers to a public authorities, local governments, independent administrative agency, etc. of a country that processes administrative operation specified in Appended Table 1 of the My Number Act or regulation using My Number. "Person in charge of clerical affairs related to Individual Numbers" refers to a person who submits a document stating My Number to a person in charge of clerical affairs using Individual Numbers based on law or regulation.

For example, in the case of taxes, the Director-General of the National Tax Agency (tax office), prefectural governors, and the mayor of municipality (tax officer) are the persons in charge of clerical affairs related to the use of Individual Numbers, and tax withholding slips, which submits My Number records and payment records to these institutions, are the persons in charge of clerical affairs related to Individual Numbers. private business, which submits My Number records and payment records to these institutions, are the persons in charge of clerical affairs related to Individual Numbers.
(Response in June 2014)

Q1-11 Will the scope of use of the My Number be expanded without going through the law Amendment in the future?

A1-11

In June 2023, the the Act to Partially Amend the My Number Act was established, which includes the promotion of the use of My Number in administrative operation other than social security system, tax system, and disaster response as a philosophy, and the possibility of using My Number for "equivalent affairs" to those for which the use of My Number is permitted by law.

Even after the enforcement of the amended Act, in order to newly use My Number for "affairs pursuant to the provisions of individual laws," it will be necessary to add affairs by amending the Act as before.

"Equivalent affairs" aims to improve convenience for the people and efficiency of administration by eliminating the situation in which the use of My Number is not allowed for affairs that are the same from the perspective of residents but that are not based on individual laws.
The criteria that the nature of the work is the same as that for which the use of the My Number is permitted by law and that the work is limited to "work that is not based on a specific law" are both stipulated by law and cannot be expanded beyond this at the discretion of the national government.

In addition, the content of "equivalent affairs" will be specified by the ordinance of the competent ministry. Public comment is required for the revision.

If a information linkages has been made using the Information Provision Network System, the record and linked information can be checked at the Mynaportal.
(Response in June 2023)

Q1-12 What kind of corporation is local governments Information System Organization?

A1-12

Local governments Agency for Local Authority Information Systems (J-LIS) was established on April 1, 2014 as a organization jointly operated by local governments. It provides administrative services related to My Number, Basic Residential Registers Network System, and other information systems for local governments.

In relation to the My Number, in addition to playing a key role in generating the number that is the basis of the My Number and notifying it to the municipality, we are entrusted by the municipality to send a notification of Individual Number and create a My Number Card.
(Updated May 2020)