Japan will start using electronic ID card following the Estonia
Prime Minister of Estonia Taavi Rõivas met on Friday with Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari who came to visit Estonia to study Estonia’s e-services and they discussed the two countries closer trade relations and the development of the digital society, the government’s communication unit reports BC.
Japan is the first large country who is going to implement a digital personal identification code following Estonia’s example. “I am glad that Japan has taken a decisive step towards laying a foundation for the digital society of the 21st century by creating a unique personal identification code system,” Rõivas said when acknowledging the successful launch of the Japanese MyNumber project.
“I am delighted that Estonia’s experiences and knowledge in relation to the ID card are useful to others as well. Cooperation in this field will certainly continue in the future.”
During the meeting, the Japanese Minister of Finance presented Prime Minister Rõivas with his personal MyNumber card. Prime Minister Rõivas and Taavi Kotka, the CIO of Estonia, are the first foreigners to have this card. Minister Amari, in turn, become a fresh e-resident of Estonia.
“Japan is an important partner to Estonia, which is reflected in the rising investments and commercial interests between the two countries,” explained Prime Minister Rõivas.
Rõivas gave recognition to Japan for concluding a Free Trade Agreement with the United States and expressed hope that Japan and the European Union would also sign a Free Trade Agreement, as well as Estonia and Japan would sign an Agreement on Avoiding Double Taxation, which would significantly facilitate the Estonian entrepreneurs entering the Japanese market, in the near future.
Prime Minister Rõivas has been invited to be one of the keynote speakers at one of Japan’s largest conferences on economics.
