Photo/Illutration A sample My Number Card (Provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)

The internal affairs ministry will conduct a nationwide investigation after 113 cases were found at 90 municipalities of reward points associated with the My Number Card being mistakenly awarded to wrong recipients.

The mistakes occurred when residents used a municipal government’s computer to register their account for cashless payments to receive reward points, which were offered to encourage people to apply for the initially unpopular personal identification card.

The residents completed procedures before someone using the computer before them had logged out of the system, inadvertently linking their accounts to that person’s My Number Card.

Takeaki Matsumoto, the minister of internal affairs, apologized for the mistakes on May 26, a day after his ministry announced the mix-ups, and promised to provide reward points to the rightful owners.

The internal affairs ministry said the system for registering accounts for cashless payments was modified in April to prevent a recurrence and told municipalities to follow instruction manuals.

The ministry will call on municipal governments around the country to check whether similar mistakes have occurred.

The government in June started a campaign to promote the My Number Card, offering reward points worth up to 20,000 yen ($143).

People can receive up to 5,000 yen in reward points if they acquire the card. They are also entitled to the equivalent of 7,500 yen if they integrate their health insurance cards with the My Number Card and another 7,500 yen if they register their bank accounts for receiving public payouts, such as cash handouts, on the card.

A large number of mix-ups have been reported about the My Number Card, such as medical information being registered on a different person’s card that doubles as the health insurance card and a bank account for receiving public money being linked to another person’s card.

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