Japan remains alert for system problems after era change

May 7, 2019

Tokyo--The Japanese government remains fully on standby to deal with any problems related to updates of information systems for reflecting the change of the nation's era name to Reiwa from Heisei, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday.

"As of Monday, we had received no report (from government agencies) of issues affecting people's lives," Suga said at a press conference.

The comment came as the public and private sectors resumed full-fledged operations on Tuesday, following the end of the 10-day Golden Week holiday period on Monday. Tuesday is the first business day since the new era started last Wednesday.

"Government offices have reopened, and their information systems have come back into operation. Ministries and agencies are checking the current status of the systems and are asked to swiftly report any problems to the Cabinet Secretariat," the top government spokesman said.

"Major errors in information systems in the public sector will also be reported through relevant ministries and agencies," Suga added. "By being thorough with our communication, we aim to ensure that information systems" continue working normally after the change of the era.

At a separate press conference on Tuesday, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko cautioned people and companies of suspicious emails related to the era change, including possible cases of computer viruses being sent with messages claiming the need for software updates following the era change. Jiji Press