Japan has been using classic 3 1/2-inch floppy disks until now. However, the country’s digital minister has reason to rejoice: they have finally managed to eliminate them from their internal systems!
Japan regularly appears in the headlines of various media outlets as this weird one country. In many ways, the world sees Japan as exceptionally futuristic and forward-thinking. But whoever was there knows that this is not entirely true. Yes, there are some things that make a huge impression – but there are also many solutions from many decades ago that seem outdated from our perspective. And that’s exactly how it is with the local government’s use of floppy disks in their government systems. Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you: we are talking about classic 3 1/2-inch floppy disks that older readers probably remember very well from years ago. And many of us juggled them with great force, wanting to load our favorite game on the Amiga ;-).
Japan moves away from floppy disks as government upgrades internal systems
Modernizing internal administrative systems is always a huge challenge. And when we are talking about a country with a huge attachment to tradition and an extremely complex administrative and corporate structure, the whole thing seems even more complicated. The Japanese Digital Agency reported a few days ago that government computers, after many years, are free from regular use of small floppy disks. Media that have forever been etched in the hearts of many of us – but considering their failure rate, small capacity and limitations – few people miss them on a daily basis.
The Japanese Minister of Digital Affairs, Taro Kono, has been working quite actively in recent years to ensure that outdated technologies disappear irreversibly from the local administration. Step by step, he is implementing his assumptions – thanks to which he managed to limit (but not completely say goodbye to) FAX. Now, floppy disks are also disappearing from the local offices. In small steps, the minister is introducing Japan to the digital era and the regular abandonment of outdated technologies in favor of those we use every day. And those that the rest of the world uses every day in similar situations.
The great modernization and farewell to classic media and devices
The era of paper is slowly fading away, just like obsolete media. Until recently, Japan actively used not only 3 and 1/2-inch floppy disks, but also a whole range of other old media: including CDs or the much less popular MiniDisc format in our country. It can be assumed that, apart from the fact that obsolete technology was used, over time the challenge was also to obtain new, clean, unused media that could be used in everyday work. Well, what can I say: better late than never. Interestingly, a few years ago, it was widely reported that Airbus and Boeing aircraft still use floppy disks. It is via them that navigation databases are updated.
Graphics: Depositphotos.com
