[Digital Shift] Why the Debate Over Abolishing Hanko Seals Feels Off to Me

The debate over the future of hanko seals seems to be heating up.

But looking at this whole series of debates, something feels off — or rather, I get a strange, uncomfortable feeling.

It should be coexistence, not opposition

To give the conclusion first, what feels off is that the existence of hanko and technology is being set up as "opposites".

It's perfectly fine if hanko and paper processing survive going forward; it's just that they take effort and time, so I simply want technology to take over the position of the main method.

The unfortunate thing about the hanko parliamentary league is its "THE vested interests" stance: it is creating a climate in which no option other than hanko and paper processing will be accepted going forward.

The same goes for debates about DX, AI, RPA, and the like: they become unconstructive because people treat them as enemies.

If people want to keep using hanko and paper, just add a fee

That said, it is probably also a fact that hanko are no longer rational as a tool for establishing "trust" or "proof."

There was also an argument that "we only need to keep the most important registered seals and seal certificates," but that misses the mark too.

For "trustworthiness" and "proof" functions at an even higher level, combining multiple methods such as biometric authentication (fingerprint, face), electronic certificates, My Number, passwords, and signatures can do the job, and using technology is more rational no matter how you think about it.

However, if there remain a certain number of people who can't keep up with technology, wouldn't it be fine to handle them with government offices, hanko, and paper as before?

But as an irregular case, let's have a fee (preferably an amount that hurts a little) added to the processing.

This is the same as banks, whose function has likewise become a mere formality, charging a fee for issuing passbooks (by the way, I think they should also charge for passbook updates).

The feeling that "people don't want to lose out" works strongly, so if they feel the fee is high, even people who can't keep up with technology, regardless of age, will surely try desperately to master it.

And as a result, the level of technology use across the whole country will be raised.

The resisting hanko parliamentary league and hanko shops should rebrand

When the talk turns to abolishing hanko, it becomes a story like "preserving the culture of hanko..."

But this, too, feels very off to me. The current debate over hanko is simply about the fact that they no longer have value as a necessity; I feel the culture itself can be passed on by changing the situations in which hanko are used.

Just think about these:

Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, White Day...

None of these have been in Japan since long ago; they were suddenly born out of corporate marketing and took root.

In other words, to preserve hanko culture and hanko themselves, why don't the so-called hanko parliamentary league and the industry unite to brand "the role of hanko going forward"?

Hanko don't have to be sold to Japanese people

In the first place, the hanko-abolition debate is strange in that it assumes Japanese people will continue to use hanko.

Hardly any country but Japan uses hanko, and Japan's population is shrinking, so even if they resist, hanko are heading toward extinction.

So here is my proposal: from now on, why not market them at high prices as luxury items?

And the target is foreigners with money.

For example, there must be no small number of wealthy foreigners who want to learn calligraphy.

In that case, you could sell them as a set with calligraphy supplies, or even hanko alone, for example at a minimum of 300,000 yen each with a maintenance guarantee of 180,000 yen a year, and they might sell.

Montblanc solidly sells fountain pens, an item that doesn't fit today's era at all.

In this era when Apple Watch and Fitbit are popular, Rolex solidly sells the outdated item of an analog pocket watch.

Both have devoted fans.

Of course, research is necessary, but that is exactly when the internet comes into play.

There is crowdfunding aimed at overseas markets, so it is possible to find a breakthrough while minimizing risk.

An unconventional hanko sales strategy

"Even if you say that, most hanko shops can't do such a thing..." Some may say that.

However, it's not only hanko that get weeded out; the same goes for any business dealing in commodities.

All the more so in a declining industry.

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