Japanese 'My Number Card' Digital IDs Coming to Apple's Wallet App

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced that support for national My Number Card IDs in Japan will be coming to Apple's Wallet app "late next spring," marking the first expansion of digital IDs in Apple Wallet beyond the United States [Google translation].

Over 100 million Japanese residents currently have My Number Card IDs, which enable them to receive services at over 60,000 convenience stores around the country, through online portals, and in other settings such as hospitals and government agencies.

"The deployment of Apple Wallet's ID feature outside the United States is an important step in our vision of replacing traditional physical wallets with easy, secure, and private mobile wallets. We will make the My Number Card available in Apple Wallet from the second half of next spring, and we will present your ID while making full use of the security and privacy protection features built into the iPhone. We are very pleased to provide a convenient and convenient way for everyone living in Japan," said Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.

Once loaded into Apple Wallet, a user's My Number Card can be accessed within the app by authenticating with Face ID or Touch ID, and the ID can then be presented either face-to-face or to a card reader, enabling access to medical services, governmental services, and more.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida discussed My Number Card integration during one of Cook's trips to Japan back in late 2022. At the time, Cook said Apple had some concerns over user privacy and security around the IDs, but it appears those concerns have been satisfied to a sufficient enough degree that Apple is now on board with supporting the IDs in its centralized Wallet app.

Article Link: Japanese 'My Number Card' Digital IDs Coming to Apple's Wallet App

 

[iGeneo]

Congrats to them.. We need more US states on board. California of all places should have been there long ago, instead we have another app that doesn't really work all that well and no Wallet support

 

[max2]

This is so cool.

No I am not.

 

[Justin Cymbal]

That’s awesome!

I have the US passport card that I carry with my titanium Apple Card in my Apple MagSafe wallet (that attaches to the back of my iPhone) every day to use as my ID in case somebody asks for ID but it would be great if Apple eventually allowed the ability to add the US passport card to the Apple Wallet app

 

[kenny7]

National Digital ID card makes so much sense. Hope US implements it.

 

[Dj64Mk7]

National Digital ID card makes so much sense. Hope US implements it.

Theoretically it’s easy, since Social Security Numbers exist.

 

[quietstormSD]

That’s awesome!

I have the US passport card that I carry with my titanium Apple Card in my Apple MagSafe wallet (that attaches to the back of my iPhone) every day to use as my ID in case somebody asks for ID but it would be great if Apple eventually allowed the ability to add the US passport card to the Apple Wallet app

I think that is the one card they could possibly do. It's not just Apple adopting it though. The whole system that checks for your ID for whatever reason would need to accept it as well. I mean we finally pretty much got it with tap to pay now, except for Home Depot and Walmart. So I wouldn't say it could never happen.

 

[Dj64Mk7]

It would be so nice if the IDs here in the US worked for more than just TSA at a paltry number of airports.

 

[Shirasaki]

National Digital ID card makes so much sense. Hope US implements it.

Yeah, if only US could force the issue of introducing a national ID that’s not a drivers license.
Imagine a world where day to day activities you don’t need to carry a physical ID card to prove your basic identity.

Theoretically it’s easy, since Social Security Numbers exist.

While yes, a universal ID for every citizen regardless of age could solve many problems. But nah…”freedom!”
And we are here today.
Safe to say the meaning of freedom has been substantially misunderstood.

 

[CrysisDeu]

Woah where are the people who complained about privacy and government using a standard id to track its citizens.

Oh it’s Japan, we are good

 

[junior]

Woah where are the people who complained about privacy and government using a standard id to track its citizens.

Oh it’s Japan, we are good

I live in Japan and hate My Number system. Big brother is here to stay in Japan.

 

[mavis]

Very convenient. 👍🏻👍🏻

 

[tkmyzw]

The national health insurance card has already been integrated with My Number Card, and the driver's license is also integrated in a couple of years. We don't need to carry physical cards around then to identify ourselves. It's really convenient.

 

[JapanApple]

I like this. It is easy to get documentation gathering without the hassle. I can't hate this because it's getting more secure than at the start those in Japan know how crazy it is to get documents from city hall. Go to the convent store to get personal documents. This wasn't 25 years ago. This is what we need to get documents quickly and easily. My card has been convenient and easy to use. even use health insurance and medical records when you go to hospitals and doctors without showing your card. (Insurance card. (if you like) you go show your whole health history. But if you're in an accident the doctors can see your health history and take the correct direction in your treatment. says Japan MY card is hated is more of a REDDIT BS rumors and S```, BS chatter about.

 

[loby]

I live in Japan and hate My Number system. Big brother is here to stay in Japan.

If you are a foreigner living in Japan, it is not an option.

 

[Rkuda]

I'm interested in hearing arguments why a digital MyNumber card might be bad.

I would think MyNumber might be more annoying for Japanese citizens rather than foreigners since foreigners already are required to carry their Zairyu card at all times.

Personally I'm against digital currency only / CBDC since that could be abused by government or banks too easily, but digital id less so since a physical id is already required for pretty much everything.


For digital currency of the following are potential scenarios I could definitely see happening within the next 5 years if physical money is no longer allowed:
- All transactions will be tracked and monitored
- Your money expires after a set amount of time
- The total amount of money you are allowed to have at once could be capped to not go above a certain amount
- The bank / government could disallow you from purchasing certain types of product or a certain amount of a product
- You are forced to provide a certain amount of money towards an entity or cause you may not agree with
- Your accounts could be hacked to steal your money or created fraudulent transactions
- Your money could be "removed" or the use/amount of it restricted if the government desires and for any reason real or imagined

 

[stinksroundhere]

I'm interested in hearing arguments why a digital MyNumber card might be bad.

I would think MyNumber might be more annoying for Japanese citizens rather than foreigners since foreigners already are required to carry their Zairyu card at all times.

Personally I'm against digital currency only / CBDC since that could be abused by government or banks too easily, but digital id less so since a physical id is already required for pretty much everything.


For digital currency of the following are potential scenarios I could definitely see happening within the next 5 years if physical money is no longer allowed:
- All transactions will be tracked and monitored
- Your money expires after a set amount of time
- The total amount of money you are allowed to have at once could be capped to not go above a certain amount
- The bank / government could disallow you from purchasing certain types of product or a certain amount of a product
- You are forced to provide a certain amount of money towards an entity or cause you may not agree with
- Your accounts could be hacked to steal your money or created fraudulent transactions
- Your money could be "removed" or the use/amount of it restricted if the government desires and for any reason real or imagined

Yes digital currency can be abused, but money has been largely digital and produced digitally for about 35 years in developed economies. Transactions could always be monitored before, even in paper cheques. It just required more phone calls back then. Banks already have the ability to block harmful transactions or freeze the accounts of criminals. It's not new.

 

[Jim Lahey]

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid you can't buy that."

 

[arkitect]

Yeah, if only US could force the issue of introducing a national ID that’s not a drivers license.
Imagine a world where day to day activities you don’t need to carry a physical ID card to prove your basic identity.

While yes, a universal ID for every citizen regardless of age could solve many problems. But nah…”freedom!”
And we are here today.
Safe to say the meaning of freedom has been substantially misunderstood.

Agree.
Here in the UK the same mindset applies.
As soon as someone mentions introducing a national ID people start screaming "But our freeedumz! The start of the Nazi state!"
So they prefer to have to jump through all kind of hoops to prove ID…
*sigh* people are strange.

 

[svish]

Fantastic to hear digital IDs are expanding outside US. Very slowly though

 

[entropys]

I can understand some of the concerns of a digital id, even though its convenience is right up there. Like all things, they can be used for good or ill. The risk of digital ids, particularly if linked to $ in a cashless society (heck I just carry my phone with me these days and leave the wallet at home), is that it means eventually governments have the ability to unperson you.

you might want to poo poo that risk, but it is real. Imagine what countries behind the iron curtain would have been like if they had that power. Heck look at China and its nascent social credit system. Don’t think it can never happen here.

PS, on the upside, a digital Id would be useful when turning up to vote. (Ducks).

 

[hakuryuu]

I live in Japan and while this sounds convenient (and is probably more secure than the physical card), the My Number system is, as others have alluded to, not great. Aside from concerns with what the government wants to do with the data it provides access to, the data security implementation around the system is awful. So before you say how great a single national ID for everything sounds, maybe look into the risks associated with such a thing in the case of a security incident. Japan also happens to have some of the worst digital security amongst developed nations and that's not just the public sector, but the private sector as well.

 

[wanha]

The smartphone just keeps becoming ever more central to our lives.

The idea that some other device (e.g. an AI pin) is going to replace it anytime soon is pure fantasy.

 

[Makosuke]

The My Number system doesn't exactly seem to be well liked by the Japanese folks I know, and it certainly seems to be ripe for disastrous fraud/identity theft situations, but as best I can figure a digital version is at the very least safer than a physical card--if someone steals the physical card, man do you have problems, but if someone steals your phone the card on it isn't likely usable, and you sure as heck can't remote-self-destruct a physical card.

An aside, the name of the thing is pretty funny/misguided, since using it in English results in the awkward phrase "my My Number".

Congrats to them.. We need more US states on board. California of all places should have been there long ago, instead we have another app that doesn't really work all that well and no Wallet support

I cannot believe that California not only wasn't the first adopter, but still isn't on board with this. We're the home of Silicon Valley and will let our cities be test courses for autonomous vehicles, but can't be bothered to implement a simple digital ID card?

 

[kostthem]

And again....
In Greece we have our IDs at the local wallet app and Apple Wallet too.