Sorry, a bit overblown on the post title there. I’m just deeply amused by this NewScientist (28 July 2018, paywall) article on imminent cyber-disaster in Japan (apologies to any Japanese readers of this blog):
JAPAN has an impending millennium bug problem.
In the lead up to the turn of the millennium, few computers were able to properly represent the year 2000, leaving people worried about what would happen when midnight struck on New Year’s eve 1999. Now the same issues could arise in Japan when the current emperor abdicates in April next year.
The Japanese calendar is based on era names that coincide with the rule of its emperors. We have been in the Heisei or “peace everywhere” era since Japan’s current emperor, Akihito, took the throne in 1989. This period has covered the majority of modern computing, so most software has never needed to change to reflect a new era.
Almost every part of society, from payrolls to parking tickets, relies on recording dates accurately, so the change could break systems that rely on Japanese era naming conventions.
The cyber-era would be so much more efficient if humans weren’t part of the equation.
