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

More than 60 fresh glitches were reported with the government's error-plagued personal identification system, where disability certificates were linked to the wrong My Number accounts in Shizuoka Prefecture. 

Health minister Katsunobu Kato and digital transformation minister Taro Kono disclosed on June 20 the 62 cases reported over the past couple of months.

In some cases in the latest instance, the personal information of a disabled individual was made available to another person with the same name.

The errors occurred after prefectural officials checked only names and birthdates, but not addresses and other details, of individuals when they integrated disability certificates with My Number accounts, according to the health ministry.

The ministry instructed local authorities to go over their residents’ accounts for similar errors.

The local governments are required to check the relevant accounts again by Sept. 29 if they have linked disability certificates to My Number cards without confirming the recipients’ addresses and other pertinent information. 

In response to public concerns over the series of errors, the government set up a task force on June 21 to find solutions to the growing crisis.

In its first meeting, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged a complete overhaul of the system and relevant data, measures to prevent a recurrence of the mishaps and accountability to the public.

The task force is headed by Kono who is joined by officials from the digital transformation agency, the health ministry and the internal affairs ministry.

Members will seek to facilitate communication between the central and local governments, helping officials promptly report and address new cases.

The task force will also perform a thorough overhaul of "Mynaportal," a government online platform, where My Number account holders can use social security services and apply for state benefits.

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