Japan must embrace online world, end ‘boomer-era tech’, says minister Kono, as war on faxes and floppy disks begins
- Taro Kono wants workplaces to embrace more online services and a society where people suggest improvements and take action
- He has already declared war on ‘boomer-era’ technology, including fax machines and floppy disks, still common in third-largest economy
Japan’s media-savvy digital minister says he is ready to take an iron-fisted approach to speed up the nation’s stubborn resistance to embrace online services at government offices and workplaces.
Taro Kono, a political heavyweight who has been minister of defence, foreign affairs and Covid-19 vaccines, has already declared war on “boomer-era” technology, including fax machines, floppy disks and other obsolete technologies that are still common in the world’s third-largest economy.
“I have no plan to be a coordinator. If there are people who have a problem with it, I will beat them up,” the 59-year-old minister quipped in an online interview with a small group of journalists.
“The pandemic forced everyone to acknowledge that Japan’s digitalisation has been slow,” added Kono. “It has become crystal clear, compared with other countries, how difficult it is to do business and to conduct daily affairs.”
