Why Did Japan Drop the Personal Stamp From Almost All Government Paperwork?

In Japan, a Small Personal Stamp Often Does the Job of a Signature

A hanko is a personal seal used in Japan to mark documents in place of, or next to, a signature. The Library of Congress traces the custom to China, with official sealing arriving in Japan in the late 600s[3]. Many people own one stamp registered for important documents and a few others for everyday things, such as accepting a delivered package[3].

Outside Japan this can sound odd, but the idea is familiar. A signature and a stamp can both be used to show who filled out a document. The difference is that anyone who holds the stamp can press it.

The Government Counted Its Paperwork and Dropped the Stamp From Over 99% of It

At a press conference on November 13, 2020, Taro Kono, the minister in charge of administrative reform, said that procedures asking people to send a stamped form to the government numbered 14,992 once attached documents were included. Of these, 14,909 were decided to be abolished, or were being prepared for abolition. The stamp would stay in 83[1]. That is about 0.55%, or roughly one in 180 (my own arithmetic).

Two limits are worth knowing. The 14,909 includes procedures that were still “being prepared,” so the stamps did not all vanish that morning. And the count covers procedures between people or companies and the government. It does not cover contracts between private parties[1].

A Stamp Showed Less Than People Thought, Even Under Japanese Law

A joint Q&A published on June 19, 2020 by three ministries said that, in Japanese private law, a contract exists when the people involved agree. Writing it down, and stamping it, are not required unless a specific rule says so[2].

The stamp does help in one way. A court rule says that if a private document carries a person’s stamp, the court may treat the document as genuinely made by that person, unless there are doubts. That lightens the burden of proof[2]. But the same Q&A calls it only a presumption. The other side can argue against it, so the effect is limited, and the stamp does not say whether the contents can be trusted[2].

Kono’s explanation in November was about identity. A common stamp that does not confirm who someone is, which Japanese calls a mitomein, was being dropped everywhere. In his words it “does not serve as identity confirmation or authentication”[1]. A simple way to picture it is this: if the same ink pattern can be made by anyone with the stamp, the pattern cannot tell the office which person stood in front of the desk. That picture is mine, not a quotation.

The Push Came Fast in 2020 Because Paper Was Blocking Remote Work and Online Services

The Library of Congress describes the background. Telework grew during the spring of 2020, and stamps were a common reason people had to go into an office. After the Suga government took office on September 16, Kono decided stamps should be removed from administrative procedures. The Cabinet Office told all agencies on September 24[3].

Kono also tied the change to going online. At the November press conference he said that where a plain stamp is no longer needed, moving the procedure online becomes possible. His view was that dropping the stamp is a first step away from paper, in-person visits and fax[1]. A stamp pressed on paper cannot easily move to a web form, so removing it comes first.

The 83 Procedures That Kept the Stamp Have a Checkable Record Behind Them

Kono said that all 83 either need a stamp certificate (inkan shomei), or involve registries and registrations, or involve the stamp a person has filed with a bank[1].

What these have in common is a link between the stamp and a record. A registered stamp, for example, is one a person has filed with a public office in advance, so the office can later say “yes, this is the stamp on file.” (A bank works the same way with its own file.) The Library of Congress notes that Japan is one of the last countries to keep a registered-seal system[3]. This is my reading of the pattern in Kono’s list, not his own statement of a rule. The figure of 83 is also from that November day. How many stamps were truly removed afterwards is something to check on current government pages.

From Policy to Law: Forty-Eight Laws Were Changed Together in 2021

Kono said that procedures changeable by cabinet or ministerial orders would be handled that way, and that a bill to amend several laws at once was planned for the regular Diet session[1]. The Digital Agency’s outline of the resulting law describes revising 48 laws so that procedures no longer require a stamp, and so that documents the government had to hand over on paper can be provided electronically. Most of it took effect on September 1, 2021[4].

The “48” counts the laws changed for stamps and paper delivery. It is not the number of all laws in that package.

Try It: Find Out Which Papers at Home Need a Signature, and Think About Why

Look at a few forms in your home, such as a school permission slip, a bank form or a library card application. Ask: what exactly is it asking you to do to prove it’s you? A signature, a printed name, a number, a card? Then ask a harder question. If someone else copied it, how would the office know?

You will probably find that the strongest proof is the one tied to a record the office already has. That is the same thought that decided which Japanese stamps stayed.

Sources

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