Japan aims to phase out floppy disks and CD-ROMs, which have been the form of physical media needed to submit some official documents to the government. Engadget reports: Back in 2022, Digital Minister Taro Kono asked various government departments to stop asking companies to submit information about older forms of physical media. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) was one of the first to make this switch. According to the Register, last week, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry stated, “Under the current law, there are many provisions stipulating the use of specific recording media such as floppy disks regarding application and notification methods.'' Starting this year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will no longer require companies to submit data on floppy disks based on 34 government ordinances. The same applies to CD-ROMs when it comes to unspecified number of procedures. However, there is still a long way to go before companies completely stop using either format.
Kono's staff has identified about 1,900 protocols across several government departments that still require things like floppy disks, CD-ROMs, and even minidisks. Physical media requirements also applied to major industries such as power companies, mining operations, and aircraft and weapons manufacturers. As SoraNews24 points out, there are several main reasons why there is a movement to move away from the use of floppy disks. One major factor is the difficulty in obtaining floppy disks. The last major manufacturer, Sony, stopped selling it in 2011. Another is that some types of data don't fit on a floppy disk. A single photo can easily exceed his 1.4 MB storage space in that format.