The Japanese government has released details of an app that verifies the legitimacy of its My Number Card – a national identity document – issue.

Starting in 2015, all residents of Japan were assigned a 12-digit My Number, paving the way for linking social security, taxes, disaster relief and other government services to both the number itself and a smart card.

The plan was to banish bureaucracy and improve the provision of public services – but it didn't happen. My number card was hit by data breaches, reports of faulty card readers and database snafus linking cards to other citizens' bank accounts. Public confidence in the system dropped and adoption stalled.

Now, according to Japan's digital ministry, counterfeit cards are proliferating to help ill-wishers buy goods — particularly cellphones — under false identities.