Japanese Government Requires Java and Internet Explorer 11 X86

Long time reader AmiMoJo writes: Japan has introduced "My Number", a social security number assigned to citizens and used to access government services. Unfortunately, the My Number management web portal requires the Java plug-in. Because this plug-in is deprecated in many browsers, only Internet Explorer 11 (32 bit) and Safari on Mac are supported. The explanation (translated) given for this is that in order to access My Number contactless card readers Java is the only option. Some browsers support IC card access but it seems that it is not mature enough to be viable.

Comments

Yawn

[Anonymous Coward]

Yawn, IE11 defaults to 32 bit anyway. You get both 32bit and 64bit installs on windows. And many times 64 bit version has many issues especially with compatibility. In fact, many enterprises disable the 64 bit IE entirely.
Kinda like how MS themselves recommend NOT using 64 bit office, but only 32 bit office installs, because it's full of issues that MS doesn't bother to fix.

The x86 IE 11 requirement is a non story.

The java requirement on the other hand...

Re:The Number One signature of incompetence: "My"

[Joce640k]

That's exactly what you're supposed to think. It's having the intended effect.

(ie. Making you want to purchase the "professional" version - at twice the price for two extra features that you'll probably never use)

Re:unclear on the concept

[hey!]

I worked for years as a contractor developing software for government agencies, and in my experience they're often running software that is years out-of-date. This is a result of government budgets operating in a cash rather than accrual mentality -- i.e. that a penny saved is a penny earned. Taken to the extreme "a penny saved is a penny earned" is false.

Can you make do with a version of software that's EOL? Sure, but it'll cause problems. How can we solve those problems? Well, throw staff time at them. Would that be new hires? No, they're people whose salaries we're already paying. So the view you can minimize the immediate cash outlay by running obsolete software. This would not be reckoned by a private enterprise as a legitimate cost savings, but that's why the IT guys in government have to contend with.

So you have to look at government platform decisions like they were being made 10 years ago. Then allow for the development time for the project and this is how the calculation goes: 2017,minus three years for project development time, minus ten years for government lag time, and this is like a corporate in-house developer choosing applets as a platform in 2004.

Government IT guys run the gamut from incompetent to high competent, just like their private sector counterparts. But if you were to give them a letter grade (ABCDF) you have to deduct one letter grade from their ability to perform to account for the irrational financial incentives they have to deal with.

Re:Japan is a very bureaucratic nation

[AmiMoJo]

Funny, I visit regularly and find that the general level of technology, the pervasiveness of it, is much higher than the UK. Maybe we are even more backwards.

They certainly seem pretty good with computers, anyway. And smart phones.

This is just an issue with incompetent developers and bureaucracy picking the wrong technology a few years ago. Japanese people over on Srad (the new name for Slashdot Japan) seem to agree. Yes, I pilfered the story from there.