Japan's immigration agency had 103 residence card printers go unused: audit
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's immigration agency had 103 IC card printers, worth about 56.5 million yen ($363,000), sitting unused at seven regional bureau
The Immigration Services Agency of Japan had 103 IC card printers, valued at around 56.5 million yen ($363,000), sitting idle at seven regional offices after distributing them to produce residence cards for foreign residents, according to findings disclosed by the national audit board on Thursday. The Board of Audit of Japan revealed that the agency had neglected to monitor the utilization status of these printers, and certain regional offices had even sought additional devices, as reported by Kyodo.
Following the audit, the Immigration Services Agency introduced a system to guarantee the printers are employed appropriately. As of December 2025, the agency possessed 700 printers across eight regional offices, with 171 printers procured and 529 covered by lease and maintenance contracts. Among these, 62 printers at five locations were not linked to terminals at the time of the 2025 audit, instead being stored in warehouses or offices as contingency units.
The audit board cautioned, however, that such backup units are unnecessary since maintenance contractors deliver replacement devices upon encountering issues. A review of usage records for the 700 printers spanning from March 2022 through November 2025 disclosed that 63 printers, out of which 22 were not connected to terminals, had not generated a single card.
Written by urgent.news from The Mainichi's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
