Some 1 900 government procedures in Japan still require businesses to use outdated floppy disk storage devices, as well as CDs and mini-discs, prompting the country’s digital minister to declare war on bureaucrats using retro tech.
Taro Kono said regulations would be updated to allow people to use online services.
The BBC reports that despite its reputation for innovative high-tech gadgetry, Japan is notorious for clinging to outmoded technology through its office culture.
Floppy disks – so-called because the original products were bendable – were created in the late 1960s, but were falling out of fashion three decades later thanks to more efficient storage solutions. But the legacy of the square-shaped device is evident in contemporary tech, as their visual appearance inspired the traditional ‘save’ icon.
More than 20 000 typical floppy disks would be needed to replicate an average memory stick storing 32GB of information.
A Japanese government committee has discovered about 1 900 areas in which businesses are required to use storage media like floppy disks when making applications or holding data, the BBC reports.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Kono also criticised the country’s lingering use of other outdated technology.
‘I’m looking to get rid of the fax machine, and I still plan to do that,’ he said.
Turning to storage devices, he asked: ‘Where does one even buy a floppy disk these days?’
The BBC notes that this is not the first time Japan has hit the headlines for its outdated practices. There was shock when the country’s cyber-security minister admitted in 2018 that he had never used a computer, saying he had always delegated IT tasks to his staff.
[Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/black-business-computer-computing-18320/]