Japan Finally Stops Using Floppy Disks

Considering Japan’s reputation for being technologically advanced, one might be surprised to learn that in one respect, the country has just stepped into the 21st century. Earlier this week, the Japanese government announced it’s no longer using floppy disks to store its valuable data. “We have won the war on floppy disks,” Kono Taro, Japan’s digital minister, revealed on Wednesday. He said part of the reason for the change is allied cybersecurity experts were “concerned” over the safety of using the outmoded technology. Japan government officials have long had a reputation for failing to embrace new technology, which means in addition to floppy disks, lawmakers have continued to rely on fax machines and even old-fashioned paper to transmit and store information, Taro says. “Japan was quite good with analog technology, but when things moved to digital, we were too content with analog things,” he says. “So we didn’t invest enough.” What technological leap have you been resistant to take?

via Canva

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