Skip to main content

This page has been translated using TexTra by NICT. Please note that the translation may not be completely accurate.If you find any mistranslations, we appreciate your feedback on the "Request form for improving the automatic translation ".

Digital Agency Compliance Committee (10th meeting)

Digital Agency will be the control tower for the formation of a digital society aimed at the sustainable and sound development of Japan's economy and the realization of the people's happy lives. The people's expectations of Digital Agency are very high, and Digital Agency bears an extremely heavy responsibility.

At today's meeting, there were active discussions and exchanges of opinions regarding "Disciplinary Action and Recurrence Prevention Measures for Employees," "Status of Whistleblowing, etc. in FY 2025 (First Half)," "Investigation Results Report on Ensuring Compliance," etc.

The results of today's discussions will be fully reflected in the formulation of various norms and rules in Digital Agency.

Overview

  • Date and time: Thursday, October 2, 2025 from 13:00 to 14:45
  • Location: Meeting Room N-1, 16th floor, Digital Agency

Members of the Committee

(in the order of the Japanese syllabary, with honorifics omitted)

Member

Toshiya Natori (Partner at ITN Law Office): Chairperson
Koichi Endo (Adviser, Digital Agency)
Toru Kajikawa (Chairman and Representative Partner, Taiyo Yuden LLC)
Jiro Kokuryo (Emeritus professor of Keio University)
Akihiko Shiba (Attorney, Shiba & Tanaka Law Office)
Keiko Fujimori (Representative Director of ASIMOV ROBOTICS Co., Ltd. / Certified Public Accountant)

Material

Relevant policy

Summary of the proceedings

Agenda

  • Disciplinary action against the employee (as of July 22) and recurrence prevention measures
  • Status of Whistleblowing, etc. in Fiscal 2025 (1 h)
  • Report on the Results of the Survey on

Summary of the Proceedings

After the Secretariat's explanation of each item on the agenda, each member commented as follows.

Disciplinary Action and Measures to Prevent Recurrence

  • In particular, in a teleworking environment, a system similar to a discretionary working system that places emphasis on results and considers working hours flexibly may be desirable. In particular, Digital Agency is an organization that is responsible for leading the future of private companies and government agencies, and it is necessary to consider institutional design without being bound by conventional systems.
  • It is important to continue efforts to design the system and comply with it, with a view to having the entire government utilize telework in the future and have competent human resources nationwide participate in it.
  • The system could be different for staff seeking specialized skills and those seeking hourly work, as the former are more likely to have additional jobs and need to be allowed to work more freely.
  • The fact that overseas IT companies have returned to a hybrid work style of coming to the office shows that it is difficult to manage full telework. It is necessary to reconsider the system, for example, by allowing telework only for employees who achieve certain results.
  • As environments that facilitate teleworking have been developed in each ministry and agency, the know-how of attendance management based on the fraud cases of full teleworking in Digital Agency should be a reference for other ministries and agencies, and horizontal development should also be considered.
  • Labor management is necessary so that there will be no excuse for doing the work of the part-time job employer because there was no work of Digital Agency during Digital Agency's work hours. I think that there was talk of reviewing the attendance management system in the past, so a more effective mechanism is necessary.
  • This is a good attitude of thorough "prevention", but a problem always occurs in any organization, so what is important is "how to detect a problem early" when a problem occurs.
  • Strict attendance management is necessary, but it is difficult to carry out excessive management, such as imposing a duty to report to superiors at regular intervals. On the other hand, if a public officer is punished for not working at home while on duty and the punishment is made public, it will cause a great loss of credibility. I would like you to carefully consider systems that allow for appropriate management to prevent this from happening.

Status of Whistleblowing, etc. in Fiscal 2025 (1 h)

(Secretariat explained that the number of external reports was zero and the number of internal reports was three, one of which was withdrawn)

Report on the Results of the Survey on

  • With regard to the fact that the procedures for applying for exemption are unclear, it is necessary to consider how to respond after understanding which specific parts have not been communicated.
  • In the questionnaire to enterprises where part-time jobs are held, there is a response that "the degree of support required for the contact history to be recorded in the report on the state of contact with employees is unclear." Since the criteria for the required support are unclear, specific examples of description should be attached.
  • It may be advisable to consider the creation of a negative list that does not allow the recognition of exemptions.
  • What can be done as a deterrent to inappropriate cases by making communication between part-time business operators and companies where part-time business is carried out self-reported, and conducting audits as appropriate if there are any problems?
  • It is necessary to continue to consider appropriate operation based on the actual situation because tightening the degree of required support makes it difficult for private companies to participate, and it is not easy to ease the support.

The Exchange will continue to investigate the opinions of the Compliance Committee members at each meeting and the points for improvement in Digital Agency.

Greater than or