Identical strangers with the same name and birthday were given identical identity cards in Japan

Japan’s national identification system “My Number” introduced in 2015 is prone to errors

Tokyo, Japan:

A foreign resident of Japan unknowingly lived under a fake identity for six months until it came to light that he had mixed with a stranger with an uncannily similar identity.

The man, in his 20s, went to Tokushima city hall in western Japan to register his residence in November, a municipal official told AFP on Tuesday.

But due to a bureaucratic blunder he was given the identity of a completely different person – who had the same name, nationality and even birthday.

When the man arrived at city hall, staff searched the National Identification Number Registry and found that someone with the same details lived in another city, the official said.

After speaking with the man, who spoke very little Japanese, the staff mistakenly assumed he was moving from one city to another and attached details of his current residence to his letter.

Half a year later, the National Pension Service realized something was wrong, and they informed the city of their mistake.

“We have realized that even when appropriate measures are taken, there is still room for error,” the Tokushima official said, declining to be identified on paper.

He said the other man had already left Japan, meaning the mistake did not surface earlier.

Japan introduced an ID number system called “My Number” in 2015, but some say the new system is prone to human errors and data leaks.

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