Japan's government wants more people to sign up for digital identification cards (IDs), but the idea is unpopular.
日本政府希望更多的人注册数字身份证，但这一想法并不受欢迎。
The government is asking people to apply for plastic My Number cards which have microchips and photos. The cards connect to driver's licenses and the public health insurance plans. Health insurance cards now in use, which do not have photos, will no longer be used in late 2024. People will have to use My Number cards instead.
日本政府要求人们申请配备微芯片和个人照片的塑料“My Number”卡。该卡与驾照和公共健康保险计划相关联。目前正在使用的医保卡上没有照片，且到2024年底将停止使用，人们将必须使用“My Number”卡。
That change has created strong disagreement. An online petition demanding that the current health cards continue got more than 100,000 signatures in a few days.
这一变化引发了人们的强烈反对。一份要求继续保留当前医保卡的网上请愿书在几天内就获得了超过10万个签名。
The digital card system began in 2016, but people have been slow to use it. Many Japanese worry their information might be stolen and that the digital ID violates their right to privacy.
该数字卡系统于2016年开始运行，但人们使用它的速度一直很慢。许多日本人担心他们的信息可能会被窃取，也担心数字身份证会侵犯他们的隐私权。
There are other reasons people are against the digital cards. Some Japanese prefer paper and in-person meetings. Many Japanese do business in person, using cash, and many offices require people to bring paper documents. Japanese traditionally value quality work done by hand, and many also carefully save documents, keeping them in well-organized files.
人们反对数字卡还有其他原因：许多日本人更喜欢纸质文件和面对面的会议，倾向于用现金当面做生意，许多办公室要求人们带纸质文件。日本人习惯于用传统方式手工完成高质量工作，许多人还会仔细保存文件，将它们保存在井然有序的文件夹中。
Some say the current health insurance card system has been working well for decades and that going digital will create more work.
有些人则表示，目前的医疗保险卡系统几十年来一直运行良好，而数字化将会创造更多工作岗位。
Koichi Kurosawa, secretary-general at the National Confederation of Trade Unions said people would be happier with digitization if it made their work easier and shorter. However, he said that was not the case in many Japanese workplaces.
日本全国工会总联盟秘书长黑泽光一表示，如果数字化使人们的工作变得更容易、用时更短，人们会更喜欢数字化。然而，他表示，在许多日本工作场所，情况并非如此。
Privacy concerns
隐私问题
After leaks of private information and other mistakes, many Japanese do not trust the government. They worry about the government having too much power. This is partly because of the history of authoritarian government before and during World War II.
在出现私人信息泄露等错误之后，许多日本人不信任政府。他们担心政府拥有太多的权力。这在一定程度上是因为二战前和二战期间的威权政府历史。
Kurosawa said people "are worried it will lead to tighter surveillance."
黑泽光一表示，人们“担心这会导致更严格的监控”。
Saeko Fujimori works in the music copyright business. She said she is supposed to get My Number information from the people she deals with, but many refuse to share the information.
藤森秀子从事音乐版权业务。她说她应该从与她打交道的人那里获取数字卡信息，但许多人拒绝分享这些信息。
"There is a microchip in it, and that means there could be fraud," said Fujimori, who has a My Number but doesn't plan to get the new card. "If a machine is reading all the information, that can lead to mistakes in the medical sector, too."
“里面有一个微芯片，这意味着可能存在欺诈行为，”拥有个人编号但不打算获得新卡的藤森说。“如果一台机器正在读取所有信息，那也可能导致医疗领域的错误。”
Changing to digital
向数字化转变
Getting an existing My Number digitized takes a lot of time and uses paper. People must fill out and mail back documents. Last month's deadline was extended, but only about half of the Japanese population have a My Number, the government says.
将现有的个人编号数字化需要大量时间并使用纸张。人们必须填写并寄回文件。政府表示，上个月的截止日期延长了，但只有大约一半的日本人拥有个人编号。
"They keep failing in anything digital and we have no memories of successful digital transformation by the government," said Nobi Hayashi, a technology expert.
技术专家野比林说：“他们在任何数字化方面都失败了，我们不记得政府有成功完成过数字化转型。”
Hayashi says the government's effort to get more people to get digital cards needs to be more "vision-driven."
野比林表示，政府让更多人使用数字卡的需要更多“以愿景为导向”。
"They don't show a bigger picture, or they don't have one," Hayashi said.
“他们没有展示更大的画面，或者他们没有，”Hayashi 说。
Yojiro Maeda is a researcher at Nagasaki University who studies local governments. He thinks digitization is needed, and My Number is a step in the right direction.
前田洋次郎是长崎大学研究地方政府的研究员。他认为数字化是必要的，而数字卡是朝着正确方向迈出的一步。
"You just have to do it," Maeda said.
“我们必须这样做。”前田说。
Japan's Minister of Digital Affairs, Taro Kono, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press that more is needed to persuade people of the benefits of going digital.
日本数字事务大臣河野太郎最近在接受美联社采访时表示，需要更多的努力来说服人们相信数字化的好处。
Kono said, "We need to win people's understanding so that My Number cards get used in all kinds of situations."
河野太郎说：“我们需要赢得人们的理解，让数字卡可以在各种情况下使用。”
I'm Andrew Smith.
安德鲁·史密斯报道。
Japan's government wants more people to sign up for digital identification cards (IDs), but the idea is unpopular.
The government is asking people to apply for plastic My Number cards which have microchips and photos. The cards connect to driver's licenses and the public health insurance plans. Health insurance cards now in use, which do not have photos, will no longer be used in late 2024. People will have to use My Number cards instead.
That change has created strong disagreement. An online petition demanding that the current health cards continue got more than 100,000 signatures in a few days.
The digital card system began in 2016, but people have been slow to use it. Many Japanese worry their information might be stolen and that the digital ID violates their right to privacy.
There are other reasons people are against the digital cards. Some Japanese prefer paper and in-person meetings. Many Japanese do business in person, using cash, and many offices require people to bring paper documents. Japanese traditionally value quality work done by hand, and many also carefully save documents, keeping them in well-organized files.
Some say the current health insurance card system has been working well for decades and that going digital will create more work.
Koichi Kurosawa, secretary-general at the National Confederation of Trade Unions said people would be happier with digitization if it made their work easier and shorter. However, he said that was not the case in many Japanese workplaces.
Privacy concerns
After leaks of private information and other mistakes, many Japanese do not trust the government. They worry about the government having too much power. This is partly because of the history of authoritarian government before and during World War II.
Kurosawa said people "are worried it will lead to tighter surveillance."
Saeko Fujimori works in the music copyright business. She said she is supposed to get My Number information from the people she deals with, but many refuse to share the information.
"There is a microchip in it, and that means there could be fraud," said Fujimori, who has a My Number but doesn't plan to get the new card. "If a machine is reading all the information, that can lead to mistakes in the medical sector, too."
Changing to digital
Getting an existing My Number digitized takes a lot of time and uses paper. People must fill out and mail back documents. Last month's deadline was extended, but only about half of the Japanese population have a My Number, the government says.
"They keep failing in anything digital and we have no memories of successful digital transformation by the government," said Nobi Hayashi, a technology expert.
Hayashi says the government's effort to get more people to get digital cards needs to be more "vision-driven."
"They don't show a bigger picture, or they don't have one," Hayashi said.
Yojiro Maeda is a researcher at Nagasaki University who studies local governments. He thinks digitization is needed, and My Number is a step in the right direction.
"You just have to do it," Maeda said.
Japan's Minister of Digital Affairs, Taro Kono, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press that more is needed to persuade people of the benefits of going digital.
Kono said, "We need to win people's understanding so that My Number cards get used in all kinds of situations."
I'm Andrew Smith.
Yuri Kageyama wrote this story for the Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
apply -v. to ask formally for something such as a document, or a job or admission to a school
license -n. an official document that gives the holder permission to do something
petition -n. a document that people sign to show that they want a person, organization or government to do something
cash -n. money in the form of paper or coin
decade -n. 10 years
authoritarian -adj. requiring people to obey rules or laws; not permitting personal freedom
surveillance -n. the act of watching carefully or spying on someone or something
fraud -n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something of value
sector -n. an area of an economy that includes certain kinds of jobs or industries
deadline -n. a date or time when something must be finished
transformation -n. a complete or major change in someone or something
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