Computer system problems at one of Japan’s biggest banks continued on Friday, with Mizuho Bank unable to process salary payments for more than half a million people. The bank also said its Internet banking service and ATMs would be offline over Japan’s upcoming three-day weekend.
On Thursday, the bank’s nationwide ATM network of more than 5,600 machines was forced offline from 9am until midday, then it failed again in the evening. The ATM network had more problems on Friday, and the bank said it was unable to process regular salary payments worth Y120 billion (US$1.5 billion) into the accounts of up to 620,000 people.