Japan Phases Out Floppy Disks From All Govt. Operations

As of mid-last month, Digital Agency had repealed 1,034 regulations concerning their use, with the sole exception being an environmental regulation related to vehicle recycling.

Japan's government has phased out floppy disks from all its systems. (Image courtesy: Unsplash)

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Japan's government has phased out floppy disks from all its systems, marking an achievement in its long-term effort to update its bureaucratic processes. As of mid-last month, the country's Digital Agency had repealed 1,034 regulations concerning their use, with the sole exception being an environmental regulation related to vehicle recycling.

Earlier in 2022, Japan initiated a campaign to phase out floppy disks. Digital Minister Taro Kono had highlighted that around 1,900 governmental procedures still required the use of floppies, CDs, and mini-disks for business applications and forms. The country's digital agency announced plans to modernise these processes by enabling online submissions.

"We have won the war on floppy disks on June 28!" Digital Minister Taro Kono, who has been vocal about wiping out fax machines and other analogue technology in government, was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters in a statement on Wednesday.

"Digital Minister declares a war on floppy discs. There are about 1900 government procedures that requires business community to use discs, i. e. floppy disc, CD, MD, etc to submit applications and other forms. Digital Agency is to change those regulations so you can use online," @konotaromp had posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Digital Minister declares a war on floppy discs.
There are about 1900 government procedures that requires business community to use discs, i. e. floppy disc, CD, MD, etc to submit applications and other forms. Digital Agency is to change those regulations so you can use online.

— KONO Taro (@konotaromp) August 31, 2022

The Digital Agency was established in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as the urgent need for nationwide testing and vaccination exposed the government's dependence on paper filing and obsolete technology.

A Little About Floppy Disks

Floppy disks, which made their debut more than 50 years ago, typically offered a maximum storage capacity of only 1.44MB. While this is adequate for basic text data, more complex content can quickly exceed this limit. 

Although Sony produced the final new floppy disk in 2011, they have not entirely disappeared. Enthusiasts like musician Espen Kraft still prefer them, using the disks to store music samples. Kraft believes they enhance his creativity and enable him to produce music with an authentic vintage sound. He even incorporates floppy disks into his live performances, says a report by Techspot.