In 2011, Sony Corporation announced the end of production of 3.5-inch floppy disks, which had been used for decades as inexpensive media for document management. Only recently did Japanese authorities remove from the text of Japanese law the requirement that citizens and organizations provide the files on these floppy disks when interacting with authorities, The Register reported, citing local media.

Minister Taro Kono (Taro Kono), who reorganized this bureaucratic system, has been pushing for these changes to the legislation since last year, and Japanese citizens and organizations submitting various types of applications are no longer required to submit electronic copies of documents in physical form. any type of floppy disk or optical disc. Files can be sent to cloud storage via electronic communication channels, without the need to transfer physical media to authorities.

While the rejection of the use of floppy disks is a major step forward for Japan, which did not recognize digital signatures in many areas of document circulation even before the onset of the pandemic, it cannot be argued that such conservatism is unique to that country. So, in the US, the Department of Defense abandoned the use of outdated 8-inch floppy disks only in 2019, despite the fact that they have not been produced by industry for decades.

New 3.5-inch floppy disks can still be found on sale, they are sold from old stock, and some companies even specialize in the supply of such products. These media can be used in industrial and medical equipment, musical instruments, so the demand continues, although it is gradually decreasing.