TOKYO -- As Japan tries to bring more government functions into the digital age, local authorities in Tokyo are starting to leave behind the floppy disks they used for decades to store and move data.

Meguro Ward plans to put all work involving floppies and other physical storage media online in fiscal 2021, and Chiyoda Ward plans a similar transition within the next few years. Minato Ward moved its payment procedures from floppies to online systems in 2019.

That officials in Japan's capital are -- reluctantly -- abandoning this technology only now underscores the hurdles toward the full digital transition sought by the central government.

The disks "almost never broke and lost data," said Yoichi Ono, who is in charge of managing public funds for Meguro Ward. The ward has long saved information on payments to employees on 3.5-inch floppies to physically transport to the bank for processing.

요약 : 일본은 아직도 공무원들의 급여 이체 정보를 3.5인치 플로피 디스크에 담아 은행에 전달하는 곳이 많은데, 이제 단계적으로 바꾸어 2026년까지 개편하다고