Third meeting of the Study Group on the Ideal of Certification Infrastructure in the Education Sector

Overview

Date and time: Monday, April 14, 2025, from 13:00 to 15:00
Location: online meetings
Agenda:
1. Opening
2. Business
  - Study Group on the Ideal of Certification Infrastructure in the Educational Field _ Summary
3. Closing

Material

Minutes

Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend today's meeting. The third meeting of the Study Group on the Framework for Certification in the Educational Field will be held from now. Now, let's get down to business. Today is scheduled to be the final meeting, so we would like you to discuss and agree on the draft report of the Study Group. Now, please explain the draft report and summary materials from the secretariat.
Deputy Director HIRATA:
Yes, thank you. As you have just instructed, I, Hirata Digital Agency, would like to explain the draft report. First of all, this draft report has been prepared based on the results of the first and second discussions of the Study Group and the hearings by the secretariat. In addition, at the time of drafting the draft, we asked each committee member about his or her individual concerns and points that he or she pointed out, and that point has been reflected. Since you have time today, I will explain carefully to some extent, but basically, I would like to focus on the parts that were revised based on your opinions. In addition, we received opinions from Mr. Sakae Fuji and Mr. Kozaki, members of the committee, in a separate email just before the meeting. I understand that I will be able to receive your opinions during the discussion later today, but I would like to add that it has not been revised yet. Now, I would like to explain the summary. In the first part, I would like to explain the purpose and outline of this review meeting. Lastly, I would like to add a note that the certification infrastructure that we examined this time is not related to certification and authorization for log-in of each system, but it is used to exchange information between organizations and outside the safe and secure, such as sending documents when students transfer schools and issuing a Various Certificates after graduation, so it is described in a way that clearly indicates any discrepancies with what has been developed so far. Next, Chapter 1 explains the necessity of ensuring the accuracy of user data in the field of education. First, Chapter 1-1 explains the growing need for digital authentication in society. In modern society, there has been a rapid increase in data utilization not only in the educational field but also in various other fields. In both the public and private sectors, certification services utilizing My Number Card and others are being used in various aspects of life. In addition, regarding the 1-2 concept of Digital Public Infrastructure development, we are writing it down as I explained in this review meeting. Next, on 1-3: Current Status and Issues of the Certification Infrastructure in the Educational Field, as for the current status of the certification infrastructure in the educational field, the Japanese educational digitalisation has made great progress mainly at the primary and secondary levels due to the promotion of GIGA School Concept. However, in the educational field, there are exchanges of information between organizations and outside organizations, such as the sending of documents when students transfer schools and the issuance of a Various Certificates after graduation. Regarding the exchange of information, there has been no progress in considering the necessary systems for individual and organizational certification. Furthermore, I have listed three issues that need to be resolved. Based on these issues, I would like to focus on resolving the second and third issues as the issues to be discussed by the Study Group. In the future, it is expected that there will be steady progress in cross-organizational collaboration in the educational field, such as data transfer at the time of school transfer or advancement and digitalisation of academic certification. Therefore, in light of the second and third issues, this Study Group has discussed the necessity of establishing a certification infrastructure to ensure the reliability of entities and data, the direction of its realization, and the content of research necessary for that purpose. Next, Chapter 2 describes the expected use cases for utilizing the certification infrastructure. In 2-1, I have touched on the expected use cases and the scope of coverage. In the first part, we describe the expected use cases using specific examples, and we respond to the case of confirming the existence and identity of the organization itself and its intention, and the case of confirming the existence and identity of the individual and its intention, respectively. In developing the certification infrastructure, we are sorting out data linkage originating from organizations and data linkage originating from individuals, and scrutinizing use cases. Specifically, it is as shown in the figure I have explained in the materials so far. Next, 2-2 Use cases where schools, etc. share based on laws and ordinances are described. In this category, for example, there are administrative procedures between schools based on the laws and ordinances at the time of transferring or advancing to a higher school. The applicable documents and information are assumed to be the official records specified by the laws and ordinances, such as guidance records, medical examination cards, and investigation reports. After explaining the use cases I just mentioned, I list the required data in a table format. Next, 2-3. In the case of sharing based on the will of the applicant or his / her guardian, in this classification, for example, it is assumed that the school will provide the applicant with a certificate of graduation or academic achievement, or provide a third party such as a student certificate through the applicant at the time of entering a higher education or employment. The target documents and data are assumed to be data such as graduation certificates and academic transcripts. This section is also written in detail, and as shown in Table 3 and Table 4 at the end, data and use cases that are specifically assumed are summarized in a table. Next, regarding the target school types, we comprehensively describe the school types for which this certification platform is expected to be used, and in particular, this study group is considering mainly the utilization of elementary and secondary education levels. As for the expected implementation pattern, regarding 3-1, the necessity of the certification infrastructure, for example, taking the use case of sending guidance records as an example, it will be necessary to confirm whether the sender is really the transferring school and whether the documents are approved by the school principal in order to digitalisation the certification. Therefore, in order to firmly establish a certification infrastructure beyond local governments, it is necessary to realize data linkage related to the use cases I mentioned earlier, starting with organizations and individuals. In this section, we discuss three possible implementation patterns for the authentication infrastructure required to realize the use cases I have described so far, and organize the information for each of them. As I have already mentioned this in detail during the Study Group, I will not be mentioning today, but as I have explained in the Study Group up to now, this is the implementation schedule for the realization of 3-3. I have added one point, and based on this report, I have stated that further detailed processes will be demonstrated in the research and study to be conducted this fiscal year. Next, regarding the direction of methods for realizing certification infrastructure in the field of education, based on the directions of the three chapters I have mentioned so far, I will describe the direction of the final consideration summarized in this chapter. As for the background of various discussions, as I have written above, the realistic proposal is to utilize the existing public certification infrastructure, in particular, gBizID for organization-based data-linkage and Public Personal Authentication for individual-based data-linkage, which remain as candidates. With regard to the use of the public certification platform, although there was a mention of the need to verify its effectiveness in terms of operation, etc., given that the convenience of digital infrastructure will generally improve as the number of users increases, it will be even more important to provide it with a sense of speed. Therefore, a large number of opinions were received that this proposal deserves consideration as a realistic social implementation methodology at the present time. For this reason, the Study Group further discussed specific issues on the assumption that the existing certification infrastructure would be utilized. Next, in Chapter 4, Matters to Be Verified for Future Demonstration, we are sorting out specific directions based on the implementation plan I mentioned earlier. As an important point of discussion, the first is the method of ensuring the authenticity of the subject and data, which is described. In this review meeting, there was an opinion that it is necessary to organize the trust framework for data-linkage in the educational field by referring to the guidelines for each identity verification after conducting risk assessments of the information handled by the certification infrastructure to be reviewed this time, and it is described here. In addition, we have received your opinion that it is necessary to refer to the identity verification Guidelines, which are being considered for revision in Digital Agency, so we have quoted the latest review status and described it. Next, I would like to summarize the necessity of data authenticity assurance and how to realize it. This is the last part. Regarding My Number Card's e-signature function, we received an opinion in the review meeting that as a general rule, people under the age of 15 cannot use it, and based on that, we have stated that we need to consider how to realize it. Next, regarding the operation system and rules in the field, from the viewpoint of reducing the burden on the field, it is necessary to establish the operation rules, etc. after fully considering the actual work and system in the field of the school, such as by firmly conducting field demonstrations in local governments and reflecting feedback. In doing so, consideration should be given to the customs of schools, such as the concentration of work at the end and beginning of the fiscal year, and personnel changes. We have received these comments, so we have added them here. Next, regarding the protection of personal information and consideration for privacy, I have put a P mark on it because it is still under consideration, but it is also very sensitive, so at the end of the day, we are still in the process of confirming it internally, so we have done this, but basically, we have comprehensively reflected the contents of the opinions we received during the review meeting. From the perspective of ensuring the identity and existence of the person in question, we will consider utilizing the Public Personal Authentication function embodied by My Number Card and, if necessary, its e-signature function. However, we are not considering adopting the My Number as an ID system to link various information. Therefore, I would like to make additional remarks on the difference in positioning between My Number Card and the My Number. 3. Handling of personal information This is a little bit updated from the version you gave us your opinion in advance, so I would like to read it a little more carefully here. The Personal Information Protection Commission Guidelines and Q & amp; A require children under the age of 12 to 15 to obtain consent from a legal representative. In addition, based on the descriptions in the Guidelines, etc., in the review of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information every three years, consideration is being given to establishing a certain level of discipline regarding the acquisition of consent from a person who is under 16 years of age, such as requiring the acquisition of consent from the person's legal representative in principle. On the other hand, there are cases in other countries where laws on the protection of children's personal information have been developed. While taking into account such overseas situations and future trends in the review of the Personal Information Protection Act, there were opinions that it is necessary to continue to consider the handling of children's personal information in the development of the authentication infrastructure and the promotion of utilization after that. In addition, as each use case materializes in the future, it is necessary to scrutinize it individually, but in doing so, it is necessary to clarify who technically manages the data and how the person himself / herself is involved in the data, so that the person himself / herself can be appropriately involved in the process and function. It is assumed that the necessary response differs depending on the age of the person himself / herself, so it is necessary to design with that in mind. Next, in the section on points to keep in mind for utilizing gBizID, I am writing based on the opinions I received. In order to utilize the infrastructure of gBizID for use cases in the educational field, as I organized in the previous chapter, I wrote that we should determine the information to be handled, evaluate the risks of the information, and consider how to respond to it. In addition, regarding the points to note for the utilization of My Number Card, the e-signature function of My Number Card, which I mentioned earlier, is also described again, but with regard to the e-signature function, it is described in the form that it is necessary to study the technology in research and study after identifying specific use scenes. Next is implementation support for business operators, and for this, I have added the section after "In addition," assuming that the Government will create model specifications and local governments will use them for procurement to promote their dissemination, and I have added that initiatives are necessary in addition to the above. Next, as for other points of discussion, the first is the necessity of standardization efforts to improve data portability in parallel with the development of certification infrastructure, which has been slightly revised from the version I sent to you, so I will explain it carefully. For cross-organizational data linkage, not only the development of the authentication infrastructure, which is the scope of this study group, but also standardization efforts to improve data portability are required. The use of study logs, life logs, and assist logs has been pointed out in the utilization of educational data, and the government is conducting research and studies on the standardization of xAPI as a study log standard, for example, but it is necessary to promote standardization from the viewpoint of what level of granularity is convenient from the viewpoint of sharing between organizations and utilization by individuals, and to create future use cases. In addition, it is necessary to carry out the technical examination necessary for actually transmitting information throughout the country, based on the instruction manual and medical examination sheet, which show the standard of reference form and data standard in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. In addition, the government has been supporting the demonstration and implementation of standards for data linkage, but implementation in the field has not progressed to the full extent, and it is necessary to take measures to address issues related to character codes for data linkage from the school administration system to the school affairs support system. Regarding this matter, I have received a comment from the chairperson, and I have added something. Next, in consideration of future expandability, I am writing about data collaboration with kindergartens and nursery schools, collaboration with higher education institutions, and other design based on use cases. Next, with regard to the necessity of institutional responses, it is necessary to carefully consider how the national government should respond, taking into account the fact that the actual situation in each local government varies. However, in the future research and study, we will grasp and organize as much as possible the institutional issues and needs common to each school and board of education, and it is expected that it will lead to institutional responses to expand the possibility of utilizing the certification infrastructure in the future. Next is a detailed examination of the necessary costs, and regarding this, we will conduct further detailed examination in the research to be conducted this fiscal year. Based on the progress of digitalisation in the educational field, it was recognized that it is necessary for the Government to establish a certification infrastructure in order to ensure the accuracy of entities and data required for organization-based and individual-based data linkage. In concrete terms, based on the Government's overall policy of expanding the development and utilization of DPI, it was recognized that it would be realistic to utilize public certification infrastructure such as gBizID and Digital Authentication App, which have already been developed and have a track record of utilization. The certification infrastructure examined this time is not related to certification and authorization for logging in to terminals and systems, but is used to exchange information between organizations and outside the safe and secure, such as sending documents when transferring between organizations and issuing a Various Certificates to individuals after graduation. In addition, the certification function of My Number Card is utilized, but it is not assumed to use the My Number itself. As for the implementation schedule, it is considered that carrying out the development with a sense of speed based on the survey and research to be carried out in the Digital Agency while carefully communicating with the parties concerned will lead to reducing the implementation cost of society as a whole. For social implementation, it is necessary to pay attention to the points described in Chapter 4 and to refine the requirements based on technological trends. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct research and study in detail in the future. That's all for the conclusion. That's all for the explanation of the overall summary.
Next, I would like to briefly introduce the summary document, which has the same contents. As a summary document, we have prepared several pages to explain the contents of the summary. Regarding the examples of emerging issues in digitalisation in the field of education on page 1, it is stated that the three issues described in the main text have been taken up and the issues to be focused on (ii) and (iii) have been discussed in this review meeting. On top of that, I will write about the use case organization and goals. The use cases are organized in the form of data-linkage based on the laws and ordinances and data-linkage based on the will of the person, and the goal is to develop an electronic certification infrastructure that secures the authenticity of the transmitted and received data and the identity verification that transmits and receives data so that schools and administrative agencies nationwide can be utilized. Additionally, as I have explained so far as the necessary certification infrastructure, I am writing a proposal for the utilization of Public Personal Authentication in gBizID and My Number Card. In addition, as a process image for the introduction, the current arrangement is described. As a way to proceed with future consideration, we will conduct research and studies in the future, and this is described along with the history so far. Finally, as matters to be verified in research and demonstration projects, mainly the contents described in Chapter 4 are being summarized. This concludes my explanation of the summary version of the summary document. Thank you for your kind consideration.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you for your explanation. Now, I would like to exchange opinions. If you have any comments, please raise your hand and let me know. I will nominate you. What do you think? Mr. Ikeda, please.
Mr. Ikeda:
Thank you very much. This is Ikeda from Toda City. I would like to say what I have noticed since I received the summary and the proposal. First of all, thank you very much for the summary. I would like to say about three things.
First of all, regarding the schedule, I mentioned last time that we should set a target year to use it nationwide because it will be implemented across local governments and the partner cannot cooperate unless it is digital-compatible. In this time's model schedule, in the figure, it is written that it will be implemented nationwide by R16, but there is no description in the text. Please write more clearly whether Figure 2 should be adjusted consistent with the text, or whether it will be adopted in R16, or whether it will be decided based on future research. I am a little worried that this figure will not be able to walk on its own due to the existence of this figure. Also, the target year, the year from which everyone will use it nationwide, needs to be decided, so I think it would be better to write it more clearly.
My other question is about the actual operation of operational rules on the ground. In this report, I feel that the current situation is being analyzed, and that there are still concrete things that need to be overcome and done. I would like to see the WBS of the entire project, or the organization of tasks, conducted through research and study. In order to refine and raise the resolution of the project, in the case of demonstration projects and technology demonstrations, I think it would be good to invite applications in the form of subsidized projects, but as for the rules of operation, in the subsidized projects, only advanced projects tend to raise their hands, and there are very few or limited local governments that are willing to give it a try because of subsidies. Therefore, when conducting demonstrations and hearings on the operation, I would like to see the size and stance of local governments, which are positive about DX, be given some variation, such as not being so positive, but moving after looking at the surroundings.
Lastly, at the end of this summary, in Section 4-2-3, you mentioned the necessity of institutional measures. I was reading it because I thought it was particularly wonderful. In particular, regarding the digitalisation of the public register, I do not think that exchanges on paper will be in the form of PDF files with electronic signatures, but that information on various matters in the public register will be sent and received as data. In fact, I think that the way the public register should be will be slightly involved. I would like to ask Digital Agency and Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to work together on the fundamental institutional aspects so that the development of the system Architecture will not be limited to printout or form formats. These are the three points.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you very much. I would like to ask you a few related questions, and then I would like to ask you to answer all together. I understand that it is extremely important to clarify the schedule, although there are probably some parts that need to be coordinated and coordinated with other ministries and agencies. Also, as you said, there is a huge difference in the target municipalities for the survey. That is exactly what I thought should be taken into consideration. I was asking about other points as well. Then, do you have any other opinions? Then, Mr. Hideo Fuji, please tell us.
Committee Member Sakae Fuji:
Hello, this is Fuji Sakae speaking. Thank you in advance. Thank you very much for the summary. I was looking at the documents thinking that they were neatly arranged. From a technical point of view, there are only three or four questions. I would like to confirm them. The first is 4-1-1 (2). The technical implementation options described in this section are: I thought it would be easier to understand if you could write it a little more accurately. One is an electronic signature and the other is an electronic seal, which are options. Generally speaking, an electronic signature is used for the purpose of expressing the will of an individual, so I think it is related to the fact that the principal made a decision, rather than to the falsification of data. In other words, it's the electronic seal part. This is the part to prove the reliability of the electronic document issued by the organization, so I thought this is exactly the part that will be involved in the second half, so I thought it would be more accurate to write it as parallel or something with a slightly different purpose, and I'm sorry for the small details, but I talked about it. The next is 4-1-5. It's in My Number Card. I thought that the document was written with the plastic card in mind. I believe that the so-called smartphone installation and electronic or magnetic recording as an alternative to cards will continue to spread in the future. Looking at the time schedule of this roadmap, I thought that it would be good to include a little bit of information with that in mind, so I thought it would be good to include consideration for that. Also, on the last page of the PowerPoint, there are notes on the use of gBizID, and one of them focuses on the rules of ID management and the name "Biz." Among the issues mentioned in the text, the name is of course important, but rather than focusing on the name and discussing something, I think there is a lot of content on the risk level of IAL and AAL in the text, so I think it would be more appropriate to consider whether or not we can analyze the risk level if space permits and provide an appropriate assurance level, rather than talking about the name, in the summary of the PowerPoint. These are my three comments.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you very much. I think this is a very accurate point, so I would like to ask you to reflect it. Thank you very much. Also, what about the other members? Mr. Kozaki, please.
Acting President Kosakiza:
Thank you in advance. The last two members of the committee are in complete agreement. As for the schedule, I think it's better to show that this is the goal. In addition, I think it will be very helpful for those who are going forward to show the mid-stage in a way that can be seen, so please make the goal clear. When local governments try to do something like this, even if they understand that it's good or important to do something like this, it's good if there is a contact point or an organization within the local government, but if there is no such person in charge, they tend to talk about who is in charge, and they tend to get stuck in a situation where they can't explain and can't get a budget, so I think it's very important to have a model that it will work out in this way. If the local government has such an organization and can work on such things, good examples such as "I have achieved results" will be a driving force. So, if I write in the text, for example, as a contact point or an organization, I can think of something like this. One of the reasons is that, like Mr. Toda City, there is such an organization and I am in charge of such things. I thought it would be good if I could clarify something like the system of the recipient. Another thing is that the word "My Number" comes and goes when it comes to ID, but I think the school and board of education will think about various things with these two keywords, convenience and security. So, if I just think about the transfer of schools and the exchange of teaching records, I already know that the routine of printing out what has been typed, checking it out, inputting it, and handing it over by paper should be exchanged between data, so I think it would be good if I could organize it by giving some specific examples of what exactly can be achieved by doing this. At that time, I thought it would be good if it became convenient, simplified, safe, and reliable.
I have two further proposals. The first is that I think it would be a good idea to form several local governments when we proceed with the demonstration. As Mr. Ikeda said earlier, and as the chairperson is always saying, there are areas where progress has been made, areas where progress has not been made, areas where it seems possible, and areas where it is not possible. It doesn't matter what one of them is doing, but I think it's good to work together because of that. At the time of the promotion of the school affairs digitalisation in Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, for example, Nara and Gunma Prefectures were asked to form a team, and several local governments formed a team. By taking advantage of their differences and strengths, we were able to advance each other and deepen our understanding of each other. I thought that if there were a mechanism that would allow more than one local government to form a team, we would be able to solve the problems that Mr. Ikeda mentioned. The second point is that, in order to demonstrate, there are a number of issues that have been sorted out in this way, so I don't want local governments everywhere to do whatever they want because there are issues like this, but I want them to decide on a theme for each issue and narrow it down and work on various things, and I think it would be good if the team here could focus on this issue and put it together as a form. I think it would be good if we could demonstrate with a narrow theme. For example, there are local governments that thoroughly discuss character codes and proceed with the issue of private characters at the core. In fact, there are local governments that specialize in communication with local governments that read from school age books, and there are teams that specialize in communication between schools. If we can sort out the common and useful certification infrastructure in each case, I think it will lead to the improvement of the quality of education in a holistic way, as the chairman has always said. That's all.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you. I think this is an extremely important point. In particular, as you mentioned at the end of this report, there are some local governments that do not understand this report at all, so I would like to ask for your kind consideration. I would like to add one more thing. In fact, I have a feeling that this will probably not be realized at the level of small basic local governments unless there is a recommendation to receive support from the Prefectural Board of Education or the Information Policy Division of the local government head's office. In addition, Mr. Kozaki's Nara Prefecture, for example, did a very good job and introduced the same system in the School Affairs DX under the prefectural joint procurement system, but there are still some cases where the systems are not the same or where even if the same systems are introduced, they are separated. Therefore, I was thinking that it would be a good idea to encourage the involvement of prefectural boards of education and encourage joint procurement. Thank you. Thank you for mentioning about My Number. If I may mention what I am worried about as the chairperson, there are citizens and parents who have a very strong sense of anxiety about the My Number system. Therefore, I have been asking this question with the feeling that it would be safe to avoid misunderstanding by using diagrams and visuals that would allow even non-professionals to understand that the My Number system itself is not the My Number system, but rather the certification system that utilizes My Number Card. Thank you, Saki Kozaki. Then, Mr. Ishizaka, please.
Member Ishizaka:
Hello, this is Ishizaka speaking. Thank you very much, everyone. I have no particular objection to the summary this time, including the background, explanation of the necessity, direction, and description of specific procedures. During this short period of time, I appreciate that you carefully collected and summarized the opinions, including through hearings and prior coordination with the committee members. Although it is like my impression, improvement in a narrow range and partial optimization are being done in various ways in various places, I understand that it is extremely important to advance the basic development and infrastructure development, which is the theme of this meeting, and that it will increase the overall efficiency and reliability. In that sense, I understand that it is a valuable story.
I feel that the advantages and disadvantages of the three implementation patterns are compared in an easy-to-understand manner. Other countries, such as South Korea and Taiwan, which I also saw the other day, are based on the distribution and utilization of a common ID for unique education. And I think it's easy to recognize this way of thinking from the front line. On the other hand, it is important to consider collaboration in other fields and as a whole. For example, Estonia has already considered the whole from the beginning, and I understand that it has built an e-government that is said to be the most efficient in the world. I had the pleasure of visiting Estonia with Dr. Fujimura before the coronavirus pandemic. In Estonia, a national ID called eID is automatically assigned at the time of birth, and it is used in all kinds of national life, and it is done very efficiently. This time it is based on authentication. If that is the case, as Commissioner Fuji Sakae pointed out earlier, in Estonia, not only cards but also new methods of authentication, such as SIM cards and mobile phone software, are already well advanced and widespread. I believe that Japan should take action while keeping this in mind. Also, Estonia, as I can see, everyone can use this. If some people can use it and some people can't, we have to think about various things. In this report, the responses of people who do not have a My Number Card are a lot of work just thinking about it, so it would be nice if we could proceed uniformly, but this is quite difficult, and it is about how to proceed. At the very least, as described in Section 3-4 of this summary, there is always a network effect, which was discussed in the past, so I think there will be a lot of progress by implementing it with a sense of speed across the country, even if it is not uniform for everyone. And regarding the implementation pattern, actually, the pattern (2) is the concept of ensuring reliability with technology, like DID. As you have already stated in the report, I would like to add once again that consideration of technologies such as DID should be advanced at the same time.
Also, the inclusion of the term "Trust Framework" in this report is very important and I appreciate it. Universities and research institutions have long been promoting the joint use of certification and services. The fact that Wi-Fi can be used immediately not only in Japan but also at overseas universities is a contribution of the Federation of Academic Accreditation and Academic Accreditation, which is operated mainly by NII. The concept of the Trust Framework is based on the idea that all participants and stakeholders should trust each other to ensure the entire system. When it comes to such national projects, there is a tendency for local governments, schools, and individuals to follow the decisions made by the central government. In fact, the trust system works by trusting each other, and it is really an ideal to have such an awareness. It is difficult to make progress based on idealism alone, but I think it is desirable to be able to consider and operate in a way that such an awareness can seep out. I am sorry, but this is just my impression, but that's all from me.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you very much. I believe you gave a very in-depth talk on the Trust Framework, and I think it is absolutely true that a "to be" pattern similar to that of Estonia is desirable. However, it is said that about 10% of Japanese citizens and parents have a strong sense of unease about digital technology, and there are also people who oppose the use of digital technology. So, I have been asking for your understanding carefully, and I have been listening with the intention of approaching "to be." Thank you very much. Now, Mr. Ishii, please.
Mr. Ishii:
Yes, thank you. Thank you very much for your hard work. From my side, I would like to confirm and comment mainly on personal information. Regarding 4-1-3, Personal Information and Privacy Protection, there is still room for revision, so I think they will consider it a little more. There is not much opposition to the content. What I would like to confirm is that (1) there is a description that there is a possibility of expansion in the organization-based data linkage, and I do not have any particular objection to this in itself, but I thought it would be desirable to cooperate in order to achieve the objectives of educational activities and educational administration. Of course, I think that information on allergies and special educational support is necessary, but I have the impression that it would be better to write a little more about the range of issues that are included in educational administration when carrying out the objectives of educational administration. Professor Itakura pointed out that the issue of children's data collaboration should be considered in a separate framework, and I agree with that. There are some issues that should be considered separately and others that should be considered in the future expansion. I was worried about the division of that part. I think there was a time when I asked about the data retention period, but I was wondering if that was reflected in the summary, and if I overlooked it, I wanted you to point it out. Also, I think there is a growing debate on data portability because it is an individual right as defined in the GDPR, and in light of this, I thought it would be good if the concept that the benefits should be returned to the person concerned was shown as to who the benefits would be returned to through portability. That's all from me.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you very much. At this point, I think there are some points that the secretariat needs to confirm, so if the secretariat has any comments on the opinions so far, I would like to ask for them. Is that okay?
Hisayoshi Director for Policy Planning:
Yes, thank you. We received a variety of opinions. First, Mr. Ikeda pointed out the schedule. First of all, I will deal with the points of consistency and alignment between the text and the table. In addition, I would like to carefully consider the wording of the question of whether we will carefully examine it through research or whether we will conduct it within this timeframe. As you pointed out earlier, this is the area that is most likely to attract attention, so if we do not use polite expressions, it may cause confusion, so we will devise ways to do so. In addition, Mr. Sakae Fuji, a member of the committee, pointed out about My Number Card. Considering the introduction of the next-generation My Number Card in Digital Agency last year and the installation of smartphones in My Number Card, I thought that we would have to consider how the Shinkansen itself would change within the scope of the assumption, and I would like to clearly state that in the report. As for other points you pointed out, I would like to make the corrections you pointed out regarding the technical options for implementation, and regarding gBizID, I believe that you are absolutely right about the risk level and assurance level on the last page of the summary, so I would like to add them. Next, Deputy Director-General Kozakura pointed out the same points about the schedule as Commissioner Ikeda did earlier. In addition, in order to make the convenience more visible to local governments, I would like to consider giving some examples of expressions and diagrams. We have always been aware that digital is something that cannot be seen, so it cannot be conveyed without concrete explanations. However, the extent to which it can be done will be revealed in terms of expressiveness, so we would like to consider this point. In addition, we received comments on the way in which actual research and technological demonstrations should be conducted. I would like to make use of your comments in future technology demonstrations, and by leaving some information in the report, I think it will be handed down to successive persons in charge, so I would like to reflect it. Next, I believe that we have been able to respond to the points raised by Mr. Ishizaka in his responses so far. Lastly, Mr. Ishii pointed out that it would be better to write about the implementation of the objectives of educational administration, and I believe this is correct. The Local Educational Administration Law describes the affairs under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education, but since it is written in an abstract and comprehensive manner, it is difficult for those who are not proficient in laws and ordinances to have a concrete image. If you don't have an image, I think it is true that you start to feel vague anxiety, so I would like to consider it. As for the data retention period, it is not something that can be decided in terms of how many years at this meeting, but I would like to mention such issues in the last note. That's all from the secretariat.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you for your reply. Then, I would like to move on to the discussion. Then, Mr. Itakura, please.
Commissioner Itakura:
The point that Professor Ishii just pointed out is that the secretariat will take action, so I think that's fine. In short, if it is different from talking about grades or using it for classes, it is better to make it clear. In general, I think that's what people are interested in, but for now, it's about two steps away from connecting the scope of this time to that. Education administration here is an office work, isn't it? I think it means management of affairs other than student grades, but I have just received a response that such clarification will be written, so I think it is OK. One thing that bothered me was that there was talk that we should ask the head of the local government to help us along the way. In reality, I think that's true, but under the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, the head of the local government and the Board of Education are separate administrative bodies. I don't mind getting help at all, but it might be better to prepare a template for getting help in this kind of arrangement. In fact, Digital Agency also provides various services to other administrative organizations at the national level. In the same way, I believe that the heads of local governments will be entrusted to the Board of Education as well, but if they are to provide assistance, I think it would be better to write it clearly. If the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Education and It's not something that each local government has to devise, so I think it would be good to prepare a well-written document and follow it properly in the form of Demake for Demake and Help for Help. That's all I have to say.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you very much. I think you're right. You've made it clear. Thank you very much. Next, Mr. Izumi, please.
Mr. Izumi:
Hello, this is Izumi. First of all, I would like to thank everyone at the secretariat for their work. I think it's a very good summary. I am not commenting on the content, but I am writing about the comments I made in advance if I read them carefully, but I would like to share my comments with other members of the Committee in response to the discussion earlier. Because the first or second page of the summary document, the problems that are manifest in digitalisation. In today's modern organizations, even though it is essential to work with IT systems such as PCs, the problem is that information flows back and forth on paper, or when that information is used across the organization, it must be dropped on paper once between schools that are electronic and those that are not. In short, it is a problem that emerges because it has not been thoroughly implemented. Therefore, it is important not to be misunderstood that the volume of work is increasing because of the demand for computerization, even though the work is currently done on paper. I would like to reiterate that the key point is to ensure that the leading organizations are not held back, become inefficient, or fail to reap the benefits of their investments by a specific organization that has not yet been established, even in an era where data processing is already indispensable, or in other words, an era where paper is no longer needed and operations are connected through data. In doing so, the investment capacity and budget capacity of each organization vary, so the goal and point is to share roles between the central and local governments, the Board of Education, and others, and aim to minimize social costs. I think it is wrong to judge whether or not to computerize, and to consider it through demonstration. In that sense, the points to be verified are the benefits of computerization and how to adjust the costs of migration for organizations that are not computerized. In that sense, I would like to ask local governments of different sizes to be involved in the demonstration. This is a large organization where computerization is indispensable, but how much burden will remain due to the mixing of paper? Or, it should be a demonstration to share good examples, such as political best practices by computerization, or how to obtain consent, not to take consent one by one, but this school has a comprehensive consent, and communication with parents and others is very smooth. This proof points to the timing of alignment to minimize social costs, the transition costs for large organizations, and the transition costs for small organizations. I thought it was important to clarify the points of verification. This is the second one. Next, the third point is about character codes. To be a little more specific, independent administrative institutions under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry or under the joint jurisdiction with Digital Agency, IPA provides glyphs for the characters IPAmj Ming-cho, which covers all glyphs for the Juki Net unified characters and the family register unified characters. As a result, the remaining problem is that in one school, the specification of the private character area in SJIS or the way characters are pointed out is defined in which field, or we (another organization) use Unicode but there are no rules for the specification of the private character area. In short, it's an issue of cross-organizational collaboration, and it's no longer an issue of whether there was a private character in the character code or not, technically. Therefore, I thought it would be better to be specific about the point of proof. As an aside, at the end of 3-4, I wrote that it would be better to have more users of the digital infrastructure to support this. This is a mistake. It is better to have more users, but it is better not to mix them, and the larger the base, the greater the merit of efficiency. The real point here is that there is a system in place that can quickly provide feedback when issues come up, and I think the premise is that there is a system in place that can be used to see if it is left to the local government or the board of education. In that sense, I think it would be a good idea to add a supplementary comment.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you very much. That was a very sharp point, and I thought you were right when I heard it. Next, Mr. Nakabayashi, please.
Commissioner Nakabayashi:
Yes, thank you very much for the summary. This is a very worthwhile material to read. Professor Ishizaka mentioned the network effect earlier. It is a detailed expression, but in this report, there are several places where the value increases as the number of users increases. The third point of the implementation schedule for realizing 3-3. And, the underlined part of 3-4 that you just pointed out is underlined. And, in the actual implementation, 4-1-6, the value is demonstrated by being implemented by the provider and the recipient with the implementation support of the business operator. I think all of them refer to the network effect, but the way of writing is slightly different, and if you read it carefully, you will understand the meaning. I think all of them refer to the collaboration between organizations in the first use case diagram, and they say it is meaningless without each other. Therefore, I am not sure how well the term network effect or network externality is understood by the general public, but I think it is easy to understand that they are referring to the use case between organizations by unifying the words as a whole and including the value increases by network effects in each place. That is all.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you very much. Thank you very much for your valuable comments. I would like to firmly relate to that. All the committee members have made comments. Do you have any additional comments? May I ask if there are any comments from the secretariat in response to the comments so far?
Hisayoshi Director for Policy Planning:
Yes. This is the Secretariat. Thank you very much. First of all, regarding the support for the Director-General's Bureau that Professor Itakura pointed out, if it were to be provided on the ground, I believe it would be possible to use the subsidiary execution under the Local Autonomy Act. If we take such a response, it would be positioned as someone from another executive agency being commissioned to help, so we would have to show such good practices one by one in the demonstration, as you pointed out. Next, regarding the points that Commissioner Izumi pointed out, first of all, we would like to correct the parts that should be corrected in the text. Regarding the point that our resolution was not completely improved, we are reflecting on it, and based on what you pointed out, we would like to switch to a careful text. In addition, regarding the point that Commissioner Nakabayashi also pointed out, regarding the network effect and network externality, the description is slightly different, as you said, and originally, administrative agencies should be good at it, so we are reflecting on it. We would like to correct it. Thank you very much.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you very much. Do you have any additional comments in particular? Is that all right? Based on the content of this discussion, we will make final adjustments and then publish the summary of this review meeting. Since we have reached a broad agreement, is it all right to leave the final adjustment work to the chair? Do you have any objections?
(no objection)
Chairman Fujimura:
As there is no objection, the final coordination will be carried out with the secretariat under my responsibility. Thank you very much. Then Director-General Murakami will raise his hand, so please do so.
Murakami Director-General:
Basically, I would like to thank you, so please allow me some time. First of all, thank you very much for all your constructive discussions and cooperation so far. Some of the committee members mentioned "overall optimization," and I believe that we were able to send a clear message on the necessary direction from the perspective of overall optimization, going beyond the prefectural framework. To be honest with you all, I am well aware that the more I talk about the details, the more there will be various objections and views. First of all, with regard to what I have described here this time, I think that I was able to create a monumental message together with Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, even if it is just self-praise, in the sense of thinking about things by backcasting from the overall optimization, the overall optimization, and the to-be that I should aim for, by taking the same firm steps and the same direction. I believe that this is all thanks to the teachers and everyone sharing their thoughts, and their cooperation in first sending out this message, while leaving out the details. I really appreciate it. On top of that, I have two requests. The draft report this time is still difficult, but I don't know whether it will be four years or many years from now, but the secretariat wrote it with the aim that the principal, deputy principal, and teachers in charge of the school will read it when they want to study why it came to this story. There are still many difficult expressions, but at the moment of actual implementation, I would like to ask why authentication was necessary, and I would appreciate it if you could read and understand at this level. In this way, with the intention of making it into a reading material for future generations, I have made a draft, excluding at least four pages, up to three pages. If you do not mind, I believe that it is important for the committee members to actively quote this report, and to convey the direction and the meaning of the parts that can be shared with you all across the country in one voice, so I would like to ask you to make use of it in various ways when communicating to the outside world. This is my second request. We had a lot of discussions today, and there are actually a lot of things that need to be decided and worked out in this year's research. It's OK to use gBizID, but it's not just about the name. When you draw out an account, how do you pay out to whom? What do you do in this case? What do you do in that case? I hope that you will continue to ask us, without any hesitation, what is going on here and what is going on there. I would like to ask for your advice on whether this or that is OK. In particular, the four steps of research and study, technology demonstration, implementation demonstration, advanced introduction, and full-scale introduction have been organized. If we just write so, it will be a pie in the sky and we will not be able to get to the nationwide introduction neatly. For example, we will not be able to get to the elementary schools on the remote islands by just writing so on the calendar, unless we think about how to create a part that can be well combined with the movement around the School Affairs DX, or some kind of introduction strategy, while we are doing it from now on. I believe that the person in charge at that time should not be in trouble, and I hope that you will continue to give us strict guidance on the areas that are lacking this time, including the introduction strategy. It's been a long time. In any case, I think that the reason why we were able to put this together in such a short period of time was that your thoughts, a sense of crisis, were shared by the entire study group. I understand that it is the job of each ministry and agency, including Digital Agency and Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, to put it firmly on the implementation schedule, so I would appreciate your continued guidance. That's all. Thank you very much.
Chairman Fujimura:
Thank you very much for your encouraging words. Now that we are done, I would like to say a few words. Toward overall optimization What was very lacking in the field of education was this common certification infrastructure. In short, what was missing as a platform and a guarantee of authenticity. I am very happy that we were able to discuss this with the help of people from the education field, system field, personal information protection, and legal field. From here on, I would like to ask you a favor in several directions. First, I would like to ask the Board of Education and the schools, which are the sites of school education, to understand the summary. The wording of the summary is fine as it is, but I believe that the summary version will be diagrammed in an easy-to-understand manner for the sites, and I would like to ask them to organize it in an easy-to-understand manner so as not to cause misunderstanding. In addition, I am glad that the venue for this review was Digital Agency. This is because digitalisation in the educational field is being promoted not only by Digital Agency but also by the relevant ministries and agencies such as Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and I thought that Digital Agency would be the one that could coordinate it cross-sectionally. What I would like to request at that time is that each ministry and agency needs to commercialize it in order to realize this draft. In addition to the demonstration project I mentioned earlier, there is also collaboration with the School Affairs DX and the Student Affairs Division, so I would like to ask you to promote these projects while sharing the responsibilities among the ministries, collaborating with each other, and taking a strong budget. Finally, I am very grateful to all the committee members. As Mr. Director-General Murakami mentioned earlier, I believe it is necessary to widely recognize the fact that this has started to move. All of you here are at the top level in your respective fields, so I would appreciate it if you would inform not only the educational administration but also each business operator so that there are no misunderstandings, and this atmosphere and spirit will be enlivened. I would like to conclude my remarks by asking you to do so. Everyone, thank you very much for your energetic discussions. I would also like to thank everyone in the secretariat for the excellent summary. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. With this, I would like to conclude the Study Group on the Framework for Certification in the Education Sector. Thank you very much.