After years of clinging to outdated technology, Japan has finally bid farewell to floppy disks. Until last month, government regulations still required the submission of documents using these antiquated storage devices. Over 1,000 such regulations have now been scrapped, according to Digital Minister Taro Kono.
In 2021, Kono had “declared war” on floppy disks. On Wednesday, nearly three years later, he triumphantly announced, “We have won the war on floppy disks!”
Since his appointment, Kono has been on a mission to eliminate old technology. He previously vowed to “get rid of the fax machine” as well. Despite once being a tech powerhouse, Japan has lagged in the global digital transformation due to a strong resistance to change. For example, fax machines remain preferred over emails in many workplaces. Earlier plans to remove these machines from government offices were scrapped because of pushback.
The announcement sparked widespread discussion on Japanese social media. One user on X (formerly Twitter) called floppy disks a “symbol of an anachronistic administration,” while another commented, “The government still uses floppy disks? That’s so outdated… I guess they’re just full of old people.” Some comments were more nostalgic, with one user wondering if floppy disks would start appearing on auction sites.
Floppy disks, created in the 1960s, fell out of favor in the 1990s as more efficient storage solutions emerged. A three-and-a-half-inch floppy disk could only store 1.44MB of data, meaning more than 22,000 disks would be needed to match the capacity of a 32GB memory stick. Sony, the last manufacturer of floppy disks, ceased production in 2011.
As part of its belated digital transformation, Japan launched a Digital Agency in September 2021, headed by Kono. However, Japan’s efforts to digitize are facing challenges. Many businesses still require official documents to be endorsed with carved personal stamps called hanko, despite government efforts to phase them out. The Japan Times reported that the transition away from these stamps is happening at a “glacial pace.”
It wasn’t until 2019 that Japan’s last pager provider closed its service, with the final private subscriber explaining that it was the preferred method of communication for his elderly mother.
