Internet Explorer is officially retired by Microsoft after almost 27 years. Maybe not many general users are affected by this decision, but it turns out that many Japanese government offices and companies are confused.
The reason is that Internet Explorer is still the browser of choice for companies and government offices in Japan. The Keyman's Net survey found 48.9% of the 350 Japanese companies surveyed were still using Internet Explorer as of March 2022.
The companies say they use Internet Explorer when they have to do business with government agencies that specifically require the use of Internet Explorer. They also use Internet Explorer to test new sites and applications because they must be accessible in all browsers.
Whereas in Japan Google Chrome and Edge are the dominant browsers. According to StatCounter data, 61.11% of internet users in Japan use Chrome, followed by 21.49% for Edge, and 2.56% for Internet Explorer.
For companies or developers who still want to use Internet Explorer, Microsoft offers an IE Mode feature that can be accessed in the Edge browser. According to a Keyman's Net survey, 10.3% of Japanese businesses use the feature.
Microsoft has actually been inviting users to switch from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge and other browsers since last year. But it seems that many Japanese companies are delaying the transition process.
After Internet Explorer was retired, many companies, government organizations, financial institutions, and Japanese retailers directly contacted software developers such as Computer Engineering & Consulting.
"They already know it but haven't had the chance to do it. This confusion will continue for several months," said an official at Computer Engineering & Consulting, as quoted by The Japan Times, Thursday (16/6/2022).
Internet Explorer itself was first introduced in 1995 as part of Windows 95. This browser had dominated until the mid-2000s.
Internet Explorer's popularity began to decline due to its slow performance and features that lag behind competitors' browsers. Microsoft released the latest and final version of Internet Explorer in 2015 and has since started moving to Chromium-based Edge.