As the new administrative reform minister, Taro Kono declares war on fax machines

After being tapped as administrative reform minister, Taro Kono has wasted little time in waging war on emblems of Japan’s bureaucratic red tape — first hanko personal seals and now the fax machine. Streamlining administrative work, eliminating vested interests and pushing for a shift toward digitization are among the much-hyped pledges underpinning the identity of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s fledgling administration. On Friday, Kono said his ongoing crusade against hanko — which is often cited as a factor behind the rigmarole of municipal paperwork in Japan — will go a long way toward phasing out the nation’s entrenched fixation on fax, another low-tech practice that's hampering efforts to go paperless.