Internet Explorer Shutdown: Bad News For Japan

Even a long-announced ending comes as a surprise to some. This is shown again with the approaching end of Internet Explorer. Especially in Japan, this leads to downright panicky reactions. For example, the Tokyo-based IT company Computer Engineering & Consulting (CEC) reports that it has been literally flooded with requests for help since April. “Can you please do something so we don’t have any problems?” is the message from governments, financial institutions, and manufacturing and logistics companies, who are still running internal applications whose user interface relies on Internet Explorer.

Microsoft announced the end of the old browser some time ago, as a more modern successor, the Edge, has long been available. Yesterday, June 15, 2022, has also been the date for the end of support for at least a year. “They have known about the end for a long time, but they must have repeatedly postponed the necessary measures,” said a CEC employee, according to the Japanese business newspaper. Nikkei expects the chaos among hesitant customers to last “several months”.

Authorities quite slow

In March, a survey by IT service provider Keyman’s Net showed that at least 49 percent of companies and organizations in Japan still depended on Internet Explorer to control their internal processes or perform other tasks. A few weeks before Microsoft permanently disabled the browser, 20 percent of respondents had no idea how to get on without Internet Explorer.

Various government agencies in particular are slow to make the switch. The old browser is not only used internally here. In any case, the public procurement portal will be converted in time for the end of support and will also support Edge and Chrome from now on. However, if you want to submit a retirement application, you must use at least Internet Explorer mode in the Edge to be successful.