The Japanese government's digital agency apologized on Tuesday for shortcomings in a new COVID-19 vaccine passport application that drew criticism from opposition lawmakers and online users for its inability to handle maiden names.
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The smartphone app, downloaded more than 250,000 times since its launch on Monday by Japan's Digital Agency, works only for those who have received the so-called MyNumber identity cards held by about 40% of the population.
But it proved unable to upload data from those using a maiden name or an alias, prompting the apology in a Twitter posting by the agency, which promised to fix the issue in the "near future."
The vaccine passport app is part of Japan's plan to re-open the economy and resume travel amid concerns of a rebound in coronavirus infections and new variants.
Social media users complained about the late debut of the app, and the inability to cope with maiden names revived a long-simmering debate about Japanese laws against married women retaining their last names after marrying.
