Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify a Specific Individual in Administrative Procedures

An Individual Number Card may be used in measures of identity verification under the provisions of Article 16 of this Act and any person listed in the following items may use an Individual Number Card by recording information necessary for handling the processes specified in said items in part of Individual Number Card that is segmented from the part where Card Information is recorded by electronic or magnetic means pursuant to the provisions of Municipal Ordinance (in the cases set forth in item (ii), Cabinet Order). In this case, these persons must handle the Individual Number Card in accordance with the standards specified by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications (referred to as the "competent ministers" in Articles 38-8 through 38-11 and Article 38-13) as necessary for the safe management of Card Information, such as preventing leakage, loss, or damage of Card Information:

municipality agencies:processes specified by Municipal Ordinance as contributing to improving the convenience of local residents; and

Administrative Organs, local governments, private businesses and other persons that implement processes by identifying specific individuals, and are specified by Cabinet Order:said processes.

A person who has received an Individual Number Card (limited to a person who has been issued an Individual Number Card signature certificate (meaning an Individual Number Card signature certificate as set forth in Article 3, paragraph (1) of the Act on Certification Business of the Japan Agency for Local Authority Information Systems in Relation to Electronic Signatures, etc. (Act No. 153 of 2002; referred to as the "Public Personal Authentication Act" in this Article and Article 38-8, paragraph (1)); hereinafter the same applies in this Article) that has not become invalid, and excluding a person who has already been issued a Card Substitute Electronic Record pertaining to themselves pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3) or (11) that has not become invalid) may, upon that person's application, be issued a Card Substitute Electronic Record pertaining to themselves in order to record it on, and use it from, an electronic or magnetic recording medium (meaning a recording medium for electronic or magnetic records; hereinafter the same applies in this Article) specified by order of the competent ministry that is built into mobile terminal equipment (meaning mobile terminal equipment as set forth in Article 12-2, paragraph (4), item (iii), (b) of the Telecommunications Business Act (Act No. 86 of 1984); hereinafter the same applies in this Article and paragraph (1) of the following Article) used by that person.

The application referred to in the preceding paragraph is to be made by the person making that application (referred to as the "applicant" in this paragraph through paragraph (4)) transmitting to the Agency, pursuant to the provisions of order of the competent ministry and using the mobile terminal equipment referred to in the preceding paragraph, the electronic or magnetic record pertaining to the Card Substitute Information recorded on the applicant's Individual Number Card. In this case, the applicant must perform an electronic signature using the signature user code (meaning a signature user code as set forth in Article 2, paragraph (4) of the Public Personal Authentication Act; the same applies in the following paragraph) pertaining to the applicant's Individual Number Card signature certificate.

When the Agency, having received the transmission under the first sentence of the preceding paragraph, has confirmed that the Individual Number Card signature certificate pertaining to the electronic signature referred to in the second sentence of that paragraph made by the applicant has not become invalid pursuant to the provisions of Article 15, paragraph (1) of the Public Personal Authentication Act, and that the electronic signature was performed using the signature user code corresponding to the signature user verification code (meaning a signature user verification code as set forth in Article 2, paragraph (4) of the Public Personal Authentication Act) recorded in said Individual Number Card signature certificate, the Agency is to, pursuant to the provisions of order of the competent ministry, issue the Card Substitute Electronic Record pertaining to that application and transmit it to the mobile terminal equipment referred to in paragraph (1) pertaining to the applicant.

An applicant who has received the transmission under the preceding paragraph is to, pursuant to the provisions of order of the competent ministry, record the Card Substitute Electronic Record pertaining to that transmission on the electronic or magnetic recording medium referred to in paragraph (1).

A Card Substitute Electronic Record expires at the end of a period, not exceeding three months, specified by order of the competent ministry (for one pertaining to a person whose Individual Number Card expires within that period, the period until the day on which it expires).

When a Card Substitute Electronic Record User (meaning a person who has been issued a Card Substitute Electronic Record; hereinafter the same applies in this Article through Article 18-4) provides the Card Substitute Electronic Record pertaining to themselves as one capable of being verified under the provisions of the following paragraph, the Card Substitute Electronic Record User must transmit said Card Substitute Electronic Record using a program (meaning a program as set forth in Article 2, paragraph (2) of the Act on Facilitation of Information Processing (Act No. 90 of 1970); hereinafter the same applies in this Article through Article 18-4) that has received the certification referred to in paragraph (1) of the following Article.

A person who has received the transmission of a Card Substitute Electronic Record under the provisions of the preceding paragraph is to verify that said Card Substitute Electronic Record belongs to the person who made that transmission by using the program that the Prime Minister provides pursuant to the provisions of Article 18-4, paragraph (1) or a program that has received the certification referred to in paragraph (2) of that Article.

If the electronic or magnetic recording medium referred to in paragraph (1) on which the Card Substitute Electronic Record is recorded can no longer be used, or in other cases specified by order of the competent ministry as cases in which the Card Substitute Electronic Record should be made invalid, the Card Substitute Electronic Record User must, pursuant to the provisions of order of the competent ministry, promptly notify the Agency to that effect.

A Card Substitute Electronic Record is to become invalid when any of the grounds set forth in the following items applies:

when the Individual Number Card of the Card Substitute Electronic Record User becomes invalid pursuant to the provisions of Article 17, paragraph (10) or Article 18-5, paragraph (8) or (10), or the Individual Number Card signature certificate of the Card Substitute Electronic Record User becomes invalid pursuant to the provisions of Article 15, paragraph (1) of the Public Personal Authentication Act;

when the Card Substitute Electronic Record expires;

when the Agency receives the notification under the provisions of the preceding paragraph from the Card Substitute Electronic Record User;

when it is found that there is an error or omission in the information recorded in the Card Substitute Electronic Record; or

beyond what is provided for in the preceding items, in cases specified by order of the competent ministry.

When a Card Substitute Electronic Record has become invalid pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Agency must, pursuant to the provisions of order of the competent ministry, immediately take measures to transmit a notice to that effect through a telecommunications line to the mobile terminal equipment into which the electronic or magnetic recording medium on which said Card Substitute Electronic Record is recorded is built. In this case, the Agency must continue those measures until it confirms that said mobile terminal equipment has received that notice.

If a Card Substitute Electronic Record has become invalid on the ground set forth in item (ii) of paragraph (9) or other grounds specified by order of the competent ministry, except where the ground set forth in item (i) of that paragraph applies, the Agency is to promptly issue a new Card Substitute Electronic Record to the person to whom said Card Substitute Electronic Record had been issued, and transmit it to that person's mobile terminal equipment referred to in paragraph (1).

If the Agency has issued a Card Substitute Electronic Record pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3) or the preceding paragraph, or if a Card Substitute Electronic Record has become invalid pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (9), the Agency is to, pursuant to the provisions of order of the competent ministry, notify the mayor of the municipality that maintains the basic resident register (for a person who has moved out of Japan, the family register supplement) in which the Card Substitute Electronic Record User pertaining to said Card Substitute Electronic Record is recorded of the matters specified by order of the competent ministry.

The Agency is to conduct, with regard to Card Substitute Electronic Records, the management of the status of the issuance and operation of Card Substitute Electronic Records and other processes specified by order of the competent ministry.

In addition to what is provided for in the preceding paragraphs, the procedures for the issuance and transmission of Card Substitute Electronic Records under the provisions of paragraph (11) and other necessary matters concerning Card Substitute Electronic Records are specified by order of the competent ministry.

The Prime Minister may, upon the application of a person who provides a program for transmitting Card Substitute Electronic Records from mobile terminal equipment, certify that the program meets the following standards:

when a Card Substitute Electronic Record is about to be transmitted, it has the function of automatically connecting to a telecommunications line and confirming that the notice under the first sentence of paragraph (10) of the preceding Article (referred to as a "notice of invalidation" in this item and the following item) has not been transmitted to said mobile terminal equipment, and, if there is a notice of invalidation that said mobile terminal equipment should receive, receiving that notice of invalidation;

if said mobile terminal equipment has received a notice of invalidation, it has the function of transmitting a notice to that effect to the Agency and of making it impossible to transmit the Card Substitute Electronic Record to which that notice of invalidation pertains;

in transmitting a Card Substitute Electronic Record, it has the function of performing the measures specified by order of the competent ministry as measures for confirming that it is the Card Substitute Electronic Record User pertaining to said Card Substitute Electronic Record who makes that transmission; and

it conforms to other standards specified by order of the competent ministry.

When the Prime Minister has granted the certification referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Prime Minister is to give public notice to that effect pursuant to the provisions of order of the competent ministry.

The Prime Minister is to take the necessary measures so that a Card Substitute Electronic Record User who intends to transmit a Card Substitute Electronic Record under the provisions of paragraph (6) of the preceding Article can readily use a program that has received the certification referred to in paragraph (1).

In addition to what is provided for in the preceding three paragraphs, necessary matters concerning the certification referred to in paragraph (1) are specified by order of the competent ministry.