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The story
On August 25, Japan’s Digital Agency merged the “Mynaportal App” and the “Digital Authentication App” into one, renaming it the “Myna App.” On 5ch, users traded a wide range of opinions on the update’s usability, its development costs, and why integration with driver’s licenses still hasn’t happened.
On the 25th, the Digital Agency updated the “Mynaportal App” and relaunched it as the “Myna App.” By folding the functions of the “Digital Authentication App” into the Mynaportal App, the agency is aiming for a more user-friendly experience.
By merging the Mynaportal App and the Digital Authentication App, the new “Myna App” makes it possible to complete My Number card identity verification entirely within a single app. Along with the merger, the app has been renamed “Myna App,” and its icon and screen design have also been refreshed.
The app is available for both iOS and Android and can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play. Anyone who already has the Mynaportal App installed will get it auto-updated.
Source: watch.impress.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Why would they? The vested interests involved are completely different, so it's not that simple. Society still treats the driver's license as the de facto standard ID — that's not changing anytime soon. The police's vested interests are that huge.
Yeah, it really is a pain. I get needing to scan the My Number card during initial setup, but after that it makes you scan the card again every single time you log in. I only set it up for the My Number reward points in the first place, never opened the app again since, decided I didn't need it, and uninstalled it the other day — before I even heard this news, before the auto-update could hit.
'Cool' is subjective, differs person to person. As long as the functionality actually works properly, that matters more.
That explanation is confusing.
I think what you're trying to say is:
you just install Myna App from the App Store,
it overwrites the old app,
and the name changes to Myna App too —
right?
The way it's phrased walks through the timeline backwards, which makes it hard to follow.
Couldn't you also just delete it first and then install? If NOT deleting it is mandatory, you'd need to write something like "Do not delete Myna App."
But what you seem to be saying is more like "you don't need to delete it," right?
So wouldn't it also be fine TO delete it? That's how it reads to me.
I'm writing this without knowing the full picture — just noting what occurred to me reading your post.
Bureaucrat-speak is always an escape hatch.
'Aiming to make a more user-friendly app.'
We're AIMING for it!
Never said we'd actually pull it off!
And that's how the money keeps flowing.
x: 'the way the MEANING is worded walks through the timeline backwards, which makes it hard to follow'
o: 'the way YOU worded it walks through the timeline backwards, which makes it hard to follow'
Licenses fall under the National Public Safety Commission, right?
Isn't that actually the abbreviation for the Public Employment Security Office (Hello Work)? (joke — same abbreviation, different agency)
Here we go again with their signature 'meteor fall' move (slang for a sudden, last-minute spec change dropped with no warning).
Same motion as picking an e-money option — the My Number card just pops up.
Background and Key Points
Japan’s My Number system is the country’s national ID framework, launched in 2015-16, under which every resident receives a 12-digit number and can opt for a physical My Number card carrying an IC chip. The Digital Agency, created in 2021 to modernize government services, has pushed adoption for years with points-based incentive campaigns, but usage has remained inconsistent — most transactions, online or in-store, still require physically tapping or scanning the card via NFC. Until this update, two separate apps existed: “Mynaportal,” a portal for viewing tax, pension, and benefits data tied to your number, and a “Digital Authentication App” (based on the JPKI public certificate system) used for things like e-Tax filing and bank KYC checks. The August 25 merger folds the latter into the former, rebranded “Myna App,” so identity verification can happen in one place instead of two.
The thread’s real disagreement wasn’t over whether the merger is good, but over what it costs: posters who welcomed the cleaner interface were countered by others assuming inflated development budgets and inevitable data leaks, plus a side debate over whether unifying medical and tax IDs under one number is even wise. A separate thread of confusion emerged simply over the update mechanics — whether the old app needs deleting first.
What outside readers likely miss is that this is purely a front-end consolidation. The physical My Number card and its chip-based authentication remain mandatory; the app doesn’t digitize identity itself, which is also why driver’s license integration — blocked by the National Police Agency’s separate jurisdiction — remains unresolved despite legal groundwork since 2024.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5ch (Business News+) thread “[IT] New ‘Myna App’ Released — Identity Verification with Just Mynaportal + Smartphone.”
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