Japan wins the floppy disc fight, and why this is a milestone

The Japanese government has eliminated the use of floppy disks in all its systems at the center of the large modernization. The achievement comes for two or three decades after the technology and marks the main turning point in the Japanese campaign to digitize and improve government operations. As of mid-June, digital agencies have successfully repealed 1,034 regulations on the use of floppy disks, leaving only one environmental regulation related to vehicle recycling.

Floppy disks are now extinct in Japan

The floppy disk remained an iconic tool used in early computers until the 2000s, but it still exists, at least in part, as a widely recognized symbol for storing files. (To some extent), giving way to the cloud, floppy disks continue to be used in Japan due to their many advantages. They are known for their reliability and stability and are less prone to hacking than more modern solutions.

The eradication of diskettes followed the creation of the Digital Agency, which was tasked with creating a more efficient and digital government system. Taro Kono, Japan's minister of digital transformation and head of the agency, has led Japan's digitization efforts since taking office in August 2022.