Japan My Number IDs Linked to Wrong Bank Accounts

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:11 JST, June 5, 2023

A large number of bank accounts have been linked to My Number identification cards bearing a name that differs from that of the account owner, it has been learned.

It is believed that many such accounts belong to family members of cardholders. The Digital Agency is currently considering how to deal with the issue.

According to a senior official of the agency, the problem came to light during a data inspection following cases of incorrect card-linking for bank accounts designated to receive public funds.

In the second round of the Myna Points campaign held last year to promote use of the ID cards, the government distributed points worth ¥7,500 to people who linked their bank accounts to their respective cards. It is thought that in many cases, parental accounts were erroneously registered when attempting to link a child’s My Number card to a bank account. In some cases, accounts were incorrectly linked to a card owned by a spouse.

When a child links a bank account to a My Number card, the account must bear that child’s name. However, since furigana syllabic characters are not used to register names in the My Number system, cardholder names cannot be checked against those of the designated bank accounts, allowing for discrepancies to arise.

Speaking during a Fuji Television program on Sunday, digital transformation minister Taro Kono called on those affected to change their account registration, saying, “If names differ, benefits can’t be paid when public money is distributed, undermining the merit of such accounts.”