The Mainichi Shimbun answers some common questions readers may have about Japan's "My Number" national ID cards integrating driver's license information, to be offered from March 2025.

Question: Health insurance cards are being integrated with Japan's "My Number" national ID cards. Will anything else be integrated, too?

Answer: The operation of the "My Number license," which integrates a driver's license with the card, will begin on March 24, 2025. There will be three options for drivers: a conventional driver's license only, a My Number license only, or both a conventional license and a My Number card. A conventional license will be required in some cases to drive abroad.

Q: How can I obtain a My Number license?

A: To do so, you need to bring both your My Number card and driver's license to a license center or police station in your area to have the license number, type of vehicle permitted to drive, conditions such as wearing glasses and expiration date among other data recorded on the card's IC chip.

Q: What are the advantages of this?

A: If you have only a My Number license, the fee for renewal will be lower than a regular license. In addition, you will not need to report the change of your address or name to the police station as long as you report it to your local government. If you have a My Number license and have no or few traffic violations, you can take a license renewal course online. In that case, you need to take your face photo using a camera on a smartphone or computer to verify your identity, and there will be a quiz to assess your level of understanding.

Q: Is there any inconvenience?

A: If you lose a conventional driver's license, a new one can be issued the same day. However, if you lose a My Number license, it takes about a week for a My Number card to be reissued, and you also need to go through a procedure at a police station. Since the driver's license information is not printed on the card, the National Police Agency is developing an app to read the license information by holding it up to a smartphone. In addition, a "mobile driver's license" that records license information on a smartphone is also under consideration, and the government says it is "aiming for the earliest possible implementation."

(Japanese original by Masakatsu Yamasaki, Tokyo City News Department)