After being tapped as administrative reform minister, Taro Kono has wasted little time in waging war on emblems of Japan¡¯s bureaucratic red tape ¡ª first hanko personal seals and now the fax machine.
Streamlining administrative work, eliminating vested interests and pushing for a shift toward digitization are among the much-hyped pledges underpinning the identity of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga¡¯s fledgling administration.
On Friday, Kono said his ongoing crusade against hanko ¡ª which is often cited as a factor behind the rigmarole of municipal paperwork in Japan ¡ª will go a long way toward phasing out the nation¡¯s entrenched fixation on fax, another low-tech practice that¡¯s hampering efforts to go paperless.
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