Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has instructed that driver's licenses and My Number identification cards be unified earlier than the initial target year of 2026.
Suga gave the instruction Tuesday at a meeting of the government's working group to promote the digitization of public administration, held at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
"There are advantages [to unification], including facilitating the submission of documents and conducting training online, which are necessary for renewing licenses," Suga said. He urged National Public Safety Commission Chairman Hachiro Okonogi to accelerate the process.
The National Police Agency had indicated that it will integrate the driver's license systems operated separately by each prefectural police department by the end of fiscal 2025, and unify them with My Number cards by the end of 2026.
In addition, the government indicated at the meeting that it plans to start using a system for linking My Number to the accounts of financial institutions that receive various benefits by the end of fiscal 2022.
The working group also confirmed the government's plan to install a My Number card function in smartphones from fiscal 2022.
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