Japanese Government Says Employees Will Stop Saving Official Data on Floppy Disks

"Where does one even buy a floppy disk these days?"

Copy That Floppy

The Japanese government still requires some of its agencies to save data on CDs and even floppy disks, Japanese English-language newspaper Nikkei Asia reports.

Needless to say, those are some extraordinarily obsolete forms of data storage, especially in a country often seen as a bastion of advanced technologies. Now, though, the country's newly-appointed minister of digital affairs is desperately trying to drag data storage rules into the 21st century.

Still Saving

Kono, an outspoken lawmaker who was appointed digital minister earlier this month, has been leading an outright war against bureaucratic inefficiencies and the use of outdated tech, including the use fax machines, Bloomberg reports.

On Tuesday, Kono announced a new initiative to allow government agencies to store data on the cloud — a major technological upgrade, given the ongoing use of outdated storage.

In fact, according to Kono, the country still has roughly 1,900 provisions in its laws requiring workers to store data on floppies and CDs. Other provisions call for data to be submitted on cassette tapes and MiniDiscs.

"Where does one even buy a floppy disk these days?" Kono told reporters, as quoted by Nikkei Asia. "We will change [these rules] promptly."

Spitting Fax

Kono's worry is not unwarranted. The news comes after Japanese newspaper The Mainichi reported last December that Tokyo police lost two floppy disks that held crucial information on 38 public housing applicants.

The minister isn't just aiming his sights at the use of floppy disks.

"I’m looking to get rid of the fax machine, and I still plan to do that," he told reporters at this week's meeting.

READ MORE: Storing data on floppy disks? Japan tells bureaucracy time to stop [Nikkei Asia]

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