Floppy disks, called “floppy disks” in English, were created in the late 1960s and fell into disuse more than three decades later in favor of more efficient storage solutions.

would be necessary over 20.000 diskettes to replicate the storage of a current 32GB memory card.

Despite the fact that these square-shaped devices fell into disuse almost worldwide, their legacy still lives on today, as their visual appearance inspired the “save” icon.

A Japanese government committee has identified some 1,900 areas where companies must use storage media such as floppy disks to create applications or store data.

During his press conference this week, Kono also criticized the longstanding use of other outdated technologies in the country.

“I try get rid of the fax machineand I still haven’t done it,” he said.

Regarding storage devices, he asked, “Where do you buy a floppy these days?”

This isn’t the first time Japan has made headlines for its outdated habits, which is a paradox given the country’s ability to develop innovative and high-performance products.

Various explanations have been offered for this phenomenon, from low digital literacy to its bureaucratic culture riddled with conservative attitudes.

It was particularly shocking when the country’s cybersecurity minister admitted in 2018 that I had never used a computer and alleges that he has always delegated all information technology related tasks to his staff.

The Best Pager or Pager Service Provider only closed in 2019 and the last private user of these devices explained that it was his elderly mother’s favorite means of communication.

In the United States, it appeared that floppy disks were still used in the management of the country’s nuclear forces in the 2010s, although this practice would have been phased out by 2020.

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