Photo/Illutration Health minister Katsunobu Kato on June 13 explains fresh cases of improper linking of the My Number Card with health insurance information. (Kazuhiro Fujitani)

The health ministry reported 60 fresh cases of “My Number” identification cards being mistakenly linked with wrong health insurance information.

These included four instances in which personal medical records, including treatment histories and medication information, were inadvertently accessed by strangers, health minister Katsunobu Kato said at a news conference held after a Cabinet meeting on June 13.

Human error during the data-inputting process resulted in the incorrect linking of the My Number Card, formally called the Individual Number Card, with health insurance data.

The ministry earlier confirmed 7,312 such cases between October 2021 and last November.

The latest revelation of 60 cases, which occurred from December 2022 to May 22 of this year, brings the total to 7,372.

Among them, 10 cases involved health insurance information being viewed by strangers, the ministry said.

The ministry called on health insurance associations and relevant parties that linked health insurance information with the My Number Card system to check whether the data is mixed up and report back by the end of July.

The total number of such cases could increase.

After that, an association under the jurisdiction of the ministry will inspect all the linked data. However, it remains uncertain when the check will be completed.

The pension records were manually inputted into the government’s My Number online portal site for ID card holders.

Mistakes made during the process led an individual to inadvertently access the pension data of a stranger through the site.

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