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10th Digital Society Initiative Conference

Last Updated:

Overview

  • Date and time: April 22, 2025 (Tue) from 12:00 to 13:30
  • Location: Online
  • Agenda
    • 1. Opening
    • 2. Agenda
      • 1. Toward the revision of the "Priority Plan for the Realization of a Digital Society"
    • 3) Closing

Material

Minutes

Secretariat: This is the Now that it is time, we will begin the 10th Digital Society Initiative Conference.

It will be held online today.

After consulting with Chairman Murai, today's meeting will be open to the public and the press. It will also be live-streamed via a Teams live event.

There are nine members in attendance today, but Mr. Ikeda, Mr. Uenoyama, Mr. Koshizuka, and Mr. Taniguchi will not be present. I have also heard that Mr. Mikitani and Mr. Muraoka will be leaving in the middle.

From Digital Agency, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Minister Taira, Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister Hosaka, and Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kishi are attending. In addition, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Minister Taira and Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister Hosaka will be leaving the meeting in the middle due to official duties.

The materials are posted on the Digital Agency website, and some of them are only projected.

Well, Mr. Murai, please start.

Chairman Murai: . I am Chairman Murai. Nice to meet you.

The mission of the Digital Society Design Council is to revise the Priority Plan toward the realization of a digital society. Today, we will have discussions based on the draft proposal and the opinions we received from the members. After going through several processes, we would like to make the final version by mid-May, after the consecutive holidays. Today, we will receive the opinions of the members and reflect them in the draft. Thank you very much.

Now, let's get down to business.

Minister Taira, may I have a word with you?

Mr. Taira, Minister for Digital Transformation: I see.

Hi everyone, I'm TAIRA Masaaki from Minister for Digital Transformation.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Chairman Murai and other members for taking time out of your busy schedules to participate in the "Digital Society Initiative Meeting" today.

As there are some new members, I would like to reiterate that Digital Agency plays a leading role for the entire government as the control tower for promoting digitalization for society as a whole. For this reason, digitalization has been established every year as the action plan for Priority Plan for the entire government.

Over the past year, in line with last year's Priority Plan, Digital Agency has been promoting initiatives such as the development of a common digital infrastructure for promoting the spread and utilization of My Number Card, national and local governments' initiatives for review of analog regulations, the promotion of digital government, including the development of the Government Cloud, the development of Data Coordination Platform in semi-public sector, including medical care and disaster prevention, the promotion of the use of digital marketplaces in the disaster prevention field, and the realization of Data Free Flow with Trust under the IAP, an international framework under the OECD, the so-called DFFT. On top of that, since immediately after assuming office as minister, the central government has been promoting initiatives for the use of AI, including the implementation of AI hackathons and Ideathon in Digital Agency. AI

In addition, we are continuing to work on a policy dashboard. We are publishing information on the use of My Number Card and the status of review of analog regulations on our website, with the aim of providing an opportunity to spread a culture of data-based policy formulation and enforcement management.

Today, I would like to reflect on these efforts and, in the run-up to the Priority Plan summit this summer, to hear your frank opinions on the priority issues that Japan should be addressing in each digitalization, how these issues should be resolved, and what we should envision for the future. Thank you for your time today.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: , thank you very much.

Based on Exhibit 1, I would like to ask the secretariat to explain Priority Plan's proposal for the realization of a digital society.

Director-General Tomiyasu: This is Tomiyasu from Director-General, Digital Agency, . Nice to meet you.

I will explain based on Document 1.

Please open the page and it is page 3.

First of all, I would like to briefly introduce the progress of "Priority Plan for the Realization of a Digital Society," which was formulated last year.

First, the main initiatives and outcomes are on page 5.

As you can see in the middle of the picture, the My Number Card is expected to be utilized not only in hospitals but also in emergency medical facilities because it can provide accurate information and avoid duplicate dosing.

Next is the next page, page 6.

Various online and one-stop transfers have been made using Mynaportal. In the middle, as an example, it is possible to submit a moving-out notification online when moving out, and about 780,000 transfers have been made online.

Next, it is page 7.

We will review the rules that are based on analog methods, and as you can see on the right, I would like to explain typical examples of inspections of road bridges. We are responding to the shortage of human resources by switching from analog to digital inspections, which previously required humans to perform close-up visual inspections, to improve workload and cost efficiency through the use of drones and other devices.

It is page 8.

Regarding the use of digital marketplaces, we have prepared a very simple cloud software service that government agencies and businesses can choose from. It was released in March, and more than 200 SaaS data have been registered.

It is page 9.

With the promotion of blank tax returns utilizing Mynaportal, the necessary data for tax returns are automatically entered into e-Tax as announced, which has shortened the time and reduced the burden on taxpayers.

Next, on pages 2-2 and 10, this will be the content of the report on Digital Agency's activities from a data-based perspective. Digital Agency has been conducting activities along the Priority Plan, and I will explain this as part of Priority Plan's progress.

On page 11, about society's awareness of digitalization, in response to the proposal at this concept meeting, as a fixed-point observation, we collect data every fiscal year. The main result is that about 50% of people agree with digitalization. On the far right, about 30% of digital users are satisfied, and I think it is our mission to increase the number here.

Next is page 12.

In terms of providing services that are friendly to the people, first of all, it is My Number Card. It has reached the point where 3 / 4, 78% of the people, or about 80%, own it.

Next, it is page 13.

I would like to mention Mynaportal as a typical example of online procedures for citizens. In the middle, you can see the user satisfaction rate. The user satisfaction rate for Mynaportal is about 50%, and we will make efforts to continue to increase it.

It is page 14.

In the future, in order for citizens to omit attached documents, data linkage between administrative agencies will be necessary. We are increasing the number of procedures in which such data linkage is possible, and as you can see on the lower left, the number of information linkages is 210 million, which is equal to the number of documents that residents did not need to attach.

On the far right is the number of common services. This time, in order to avoid the need for each local government to create various services, Digital Agency is providing services that can be used by each local government. At the top of the list is Mynaportal, which has prepared a common settlement platform and services that can be used at counters.

Next, it's page 15.

This time, we will also reduce the burden on citizens and employees in administrative procedures. If you look at the middle, you will see that the number of copies of residence certificates issued for the Convenience Store Certificate Issuance Service is 17.07 million per year, and on the right, you can apply for a passport not only to renew it, but also 300,000 times per year, and I believe this number will continue to increase. Also, on the right, it is possible to apply for a national qualification, and in both cases, it is possible to omit the attachment of the family register, which is convenient for citizens. We will gradually expand this as well.

Next, it is page 16.

Similarly, in order to reduce the burden on citizens and employees in administrative procedures, the use of income tax returns and pensions is steadily increasing every year.

Next, it is page 17.

This time, it is the use of digital identity verification procedures that will serve as a foundation for citizens to proceed with digital procedures with peace of mind.

The number of operators who have installed JPKI (Japanese Public Key Infrastructure) on the left side is increasing, and the number of times of identity verification on the right side is also increasing. In addition, the digital Authentication App provided by Digital Agency has been downloaded more than 100,000 times.

Next, on page 18, this time it is about reducing the burden on business operators even for the same citizens.

As a representative example, gBizID is shown on the left. This is an initiative in which gBizID is used as a common IDs rather than individual IDs assigned by each local government or ministry, and the number of registered users is steadily increasing.

Next, it is page 19.

This time, with regard to the promotion of growth strategies, as I mentioned earlier, in regard to review of analog regulations, 97% of the seven typical analog regulations that were deemed necessary to be reviewed have been reviewed, and 6,219 provisions have been completed.

Next is page 20.

This time, for semi-public digital infrastructure development, we are steadily advancing PMH initiatives that connect local governments and medical institutions, as well as school affairs digital transformation.

It is page 21.

This time, to build a safe and secure digital infrastructure, first of all, the number of systems using the Government Cloud provided by Digital Agency is steadily increasing.

In addition, regarding the introduction of the GSS, it is an effort to integrate the LANs of each ministry into the one provided to Digital Agency, rather than separating them. This has also been included at the time of the update, and it is steadily increasing.

Next, the number of members of the Disaster Prevention DX Public-Private Partnership Council, which is also the foundation for safety and security, is steadily increasing, as is the number of disaster prevention DX services listed in its catalog.

Next is the organizational structure of Digital Agency. As for Digital Agency, as you can see on the right, it has about 1,200 people as of February 2025.

In addition, as you mentioned in your greeting, regarding AI, we will first firmly utilize AI in Digital Agency to develop use cases that will reduce the burden on personnel, and after confirming that it is safe and stable, we will deploy it to each ministry, and then we will further lead the implementation of AI.

Next, it is page 25.

As this is also an effort to ensure security and transparency, the number of dashboards is shown on the right. Since dashboards were a hot topic in the prior explanation, examples are shown on pages 26 and 27. Page 26 is a dashboard on the spread of My Number Card, and page 27 is a dashboard on the online application of 26 procedures related to childcare and nursing care in local governments by prefecture. There were various discussions in the prior explanation, and there were opinions that we need to consider such matters as whether there will be a financial gap, but for now, I will publish bare numbers. The dark blue area is 100%, and the light blue zone is the top 80% to 90%. There are various differences among local governments.

Next is page 28.

In order to build Digital Agency's organization, we have been disclosing information in various ways. As you can see on the lower left, there are 47 Digital Agency News productions, and Digital Agency has started owned media, and staff members appear and introduce Digital Agency's projects in about two minutes.

Page 29, Digital Agency is made up of diverse human resources, so we carefully check staff engagements every year.

Next, Item 2 is for Priority Plan in 2025.

In regard to the editorial policy on Priority Plan on page 31, I would first like to confirm the current location of digitalization in Japan. Since approximately three years have passed since Priority Plan was built, I would first like to confirm the current location.

Second, I will also review the issues we are facing and the changes in the situation in Japan and overseas.

Third, the ultimate vision of the kind of society you want to create.

The fourth point is about how we will address each issue and achieve results, as well as the direction and priority initiatives.

I briefly touched on page 32 and below earlier, but at this conceptual meeting, there was a discussion that we should visualize and observe conventional data, so I would like to introduce that we are also taking care of that.

Next, regarding the Word vertical paper, I am not sure if I can say that it is an essential part, but I would like to introduce it briefly here. We received various valuable opinions in the explanation in advance. We have not fully reflected them in this essential part yet, but we would like to reflect them in the preparation of the entire text together with the discussions we had today.

First of all, the first part is "Japan's current location in digitalization," and the second part, "Potsu," is written in three parts. Japan's strengths are that we have a well-developed digital infrastructure, and as I mentioned earlier, My Number Card has about 100 million people.

The second is that the existing analog regulations were reviewed in a bulldozer-like manner with the cooperation of each ministry in seven items.

The third point is that Japan has taken the lead internationally in formulating the DFFT concept, and the OECD has also set up a committee to promote the concept.

Next page, page 2.

As an effort from the users' point of view, Mynaportal, as has been mentioned, we have asked UI/UX designers to improve it, and we are increasing the number of procedures that can be done to improve convenience.

In addition, as I mentioned earlier about gBizID as an example of government services for businesses, we are now indicating a direction to build a business portal.

Although I will not go into specifics about the promotion of digitalization in semi-public sector, there are various ministries and agencies in charge, and Digital Agency is fully supporting them in their efforts to build various new and necessary services that they have not been able to do until now.

In addition, in terms of medium - to long-term steady efforts to strengthen the Government-run function, although the local governments are struggling a lot with the unification and standardization of local government information system, I would like to do my best for the future.

In addition, the transition of the national and local governments to the Government Cloud will be necessary in the process of optimizing the system.

As for the shift to the GSS, which I mentioned earlier, this is still insufficient. We need to firmly implement this as well, but I think there are further challenges.

It is page 3.

First of all, as for the issues we face that we must recognize, regarding the population decline, even if we do something with DX right now, it will not produce results. If we think about 10 or 20 years from now, I think we should have a crisis that the public and private sectors must invest in DX.

As was also the case when we heard various opinions last time, I believe that awareness of natural disasters and how much we can mitigate the threat of natural disasters are also our challenges. As stated in the second line, it is necessary to consider not only recovery and reconstruction, but also various stages such as ensuring power supply and communications, and simulations using digital twins, during peacetime, after the disaster, and after the disaster.

The third is to respond to the growing qualitative and quantitative threats of cyberattacks.

The fourth point is the shortage of digital human resources in local governments. The reason why I am writing this is partly related to the three points I have just mentioned. In the future, local governments will also need to make use of digital and AI, and I am writing this because I think it is necessary to recognize that there are not enough human resources to conduct institutional studies for their utilization, especially in small-scale local governments.

(2) is the AI you mentioned as a change in the situation. The challenge for us is how to make full use of the "knowledgeable AI" written here, but I think it is necessary to assume the "AI to act" or the "AI to do science" in the future.

In addition, regarding "3. Vision for the society we aspire to be," this has not changed since Priority Plan was first created, but I believe that we are aiming to realize a society in which no one is left behind and people can choose the services that meet their needs, while solving the issues facing Japan.

Next is "4. Direction of Initiatives and Priority Initiatives."

I will not explain in detail, but (1) is to promote the digitalization of society as a whole from the user's perspective by fully utilizing AI technology.

(2) is about the development of AI friendly environments, so it is the review of systems necessary to thoroughly utilize AI, the development of administrative data, etc.

(3) is cooperation for competition and growth, and since resources are limited, I believe we will clarify the areas of cooperation and firmly promote cooperation and competition, respectively.

(4) Regarding the modernization of information systems, we also have limited resources, so we will avoid overlapping investments and attaching resources to old technologies, and promote modernization as an effort to contribute to resource development.

Next, I would like to touch upon point (5). On the one hand, I would like to encourage people to step on the accelerator with regard to digital technology. On the other hand, I believe that we must be conscious of safe and secure, which is described here as an inclusive society. The other is measures for cybersecurity.

Item (6) is securing and developing digital human resources and establishing a system.

I wrote disaster prevention and mitigation in (7). Disaster prevention and mitigation are important themes in the prior explanation, so there may be some parts that need to be repeated, but I think we should create a paragraph and write it well, and I intend to try that.

During the prior explanation, you mentioned that there will be short -, medium -, and long-term initiatives. In fact, 4. is the direction of the initiatives and the priority initiatives. Behind that, I will gather individual measures to realize the priority initiatives from each ministry and paste it as a collection of measures together with the measures of Digital Agency. I will also attach a road map, so it will be from the short term to five years. However, I do not think that all the specific measures will be attached to this direction. Therefore, as medium - and long-term initiatives, I would like to touch on mid - and long-term issues in 4., such as issues to be considered or the direction that should be taken.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: Thank you,

Then, I would like to move on to your opinion. Since member Ikeda, who is absent today, has submitted a document, may I ask you to introduce him?

Secretariat: This is the Secretariat.

Now, I would like to introduce the materials submitted by Mr. / Ms. Ikeda.

Please refer to Exhibit 2. We received six opinions.

The first is about digital human resources. You said that you would like us to consider measures to secure diverse human resources in a stable manner.

The second is that the Government of Japan would like to continue to provide close support for the standardization of core business platform.

The third point is that you would like us to support the optimization of usage fees for the Government Cloud, and to build a system for when a failure occurs.

The fourth is your opinion that in order to improve the satisfaction and reliability of digital services, it is important to put service design thinking into practice.

Your fifth question is about the challenges that Japan is facing. You asked for the creation of an environment in which the public and private sectors can work together to create innovative business concepts.

The sixth point is that we have received opinions that we would like to request the implementation and horizontal development of pioneering model projects on local government business innovation through AI.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: Thank you,

There are members who are raising their hands. Thank you very much. I would like to ask members who plan to leave in the middle first, and then those who are raising their hands.

First of all, may I speak to Mr. Mikitani, who is leaving early?

Prof. Mikitani: I think the material you handed out is a wonderful presentation, but it needs to be specific. First, I would like you to set numerical targets for what you aim to achieve through the use of AI. By the way, the Rakuten Group has set targets to increase marketing, operating, and client efficiencies by 20% each through the use of AI, which will lead to a significant increase in profits. I think we are about halfway there.

The second point is that AI agents will appear in the future, and I think that the world will really change greatly. AI will do what humans have been doing, and robotics is one example, but it is important to think about policies in response to this.

The third point is that all the prompts given to the AI will flow to overseas companies, but I think the Minister in charge of Administrative Reform Okada measures are weak in terms of how to think about this.

Fourth, with regard to review of analog regulations, it is necessary to realize ride-sharing, and in terms of reducing medical expenses, I believe that the economy will not last unless we spread self-medication and change prescription drugs to over-the-counter drugs. However, it is said that some cold medicines should be sold face-to-face. This is truly a retrograde movement, and I believe that preventing such a retrograde movement is also a major role of Digital Agency.

Finally, as is the case with my company, about 95% of AI personnel are foreigners. Japanese AI engineers, including Americans, Chinese, Indians, and Europeans, are in an extremely difficult situation both qualitatively and quantitatively.

On the other hand, in the U.S., there is a lot of fuss going on now, but I think that by lowering corporate taxes and personal taxes, we will be able to attract more talent from around the world. In the end, the AI algorithm or platform will be captured, and all the information will be extracted there. How to really attract talented people to the Japanese market? I think the biggest problem is that taxes are very high. Unfortunately, even in our recruitment of engineers, there are actually people who want to work at Rakuten but don't want to go to the Japanese market because the taxes are high. Indirectly speaking, as a theme of digitalization, I think this is a very big problem, so I would appreciate it if you could include the attracting of highly talented people from overseas, including tax issues.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: .

Then, Mr. Muraoka, please.

Member MURAOKA: Thank you very much. I am Muraoka, the governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Today I would like to speak on behalf of the National Governors Association.

First of all, I believe that relations with generative AI are very important in terms of administrative services of local governments, as well as in terms of education and improving internal systems, so I believe this is a theme that should be firmly addressed.

Regarding the development of human resources, although national, public, and private information-related faculties and departments are being established in the prefecture, I believe that the development of specialized human resources, particularly in the field of generative AI and other areas, will become an increasing challenge. I believe that we need to increase the number of a wider range of human resources, including the top-level human resources you mentioned earlier. In this regard, I would like the national government to firmly include the securing and development of specialized human resources to support local initiatives and the enhancement of financial support.

The other is that recently, there have been an extremely large number of false rumors and fake news on social media, and they have been expanding rapidly. For example, there have been incidents that have had a major impact on elections or have interfered with life-saving and rescue efforts in the event of disasters, and I am concerned that they will expand further. This is a situation that could have a major and negative impact on individuals and society as a whole, and although various considerations are currently underway, I would like to see the development of fact-checking tools in cooperation with social media providers and others, legal responses to criminal acts, educational literacy, and the enhancement of content to include children, and the creation of environments where people can use social media and others with peace of mind, particularly incorporated in Priority Plan.

Lastly, this is in relation to the core business platform of local governments. As member Yukihiko Ikeda pointed out earlier, standardization of the core business platform of local governments is currently being advanced, particularly in municipalities. The deadline for the transition to the system for 20 operations is by the end of this fiscal year, and its operation will begin in earnest in the future. Although the operation expenses of this information system initially began with the aim of reducing them by at least 30%, concerns are growing among local governments that the operation expenses are expected to increase significantly after the transition. Even in this prefecture, at the stage of trial calculations, the average operation expenses of cities and towns are expected to increase by more than three times compared to before. This increase is occurring nationwide, and cities and towns in each prefecture are strongly requesting the national government to strengthen its countermeasures.

In considering this, the opinions of the local governments will be expressed at the meeting of the working team of the Liaison Council for the Promotion of National and Local Digital Common Infrastructure, of which this prefecture is a member. However, I would like to strongly request that the national government conduct accurate analysis and verification and take appropriate measures so as not to increase the burden on local governments. Thank you very much.

That's all from me.

Chairman Murai: .

Governor Muraoka, when you said three times the current level, did you mean the cost? Or did you mean time, cost, or a total analysis? Is there a way to analyze that somewhere?

Member MURAOKA: It's about the cost. The national government has indicated the requirements, and when we analyze what will happen if we make it in accordance with them, the result is that the cost will increase more than three times compared to the previous cost. There are places where requirements are gradually being added as needed, and this is what is happening as we accumulate such things. As a whole, it has started at a point where it will be lower than before, and local governments are desperately asking us to realize it.

Chairman Murai: Thank you very much. I think this is a very important point.

Kawabe-san, please go ahead.

KAWABE, Member: , First of all, I think that the efforts and efforts of the Digital Agency administration so far in regard to digitalization are truly worthy of praise. We also have a service called PayPay, and most of them, such as identity verification, are now linked to Mynaportal, or people can obtain passports via Mynaportal, so I think that administrative digitalization is progressing in specific areas.

I would like to make about four points. The first point is, as Mr. Mikitani mentioned, I think there are still quite a lot of analog regulations. I am also a member of the regulatory reform Conference, and a working group of the AI under Minister Taira has started. The theme of the working group for this fiscal year, for example, is the introduction of the AI among contractors. Before the AI, there are still many areas in the inspection field, etc., where the introduction of the AI is not possible due to analog regulations. I think there is no end to them in other fields. Therefore, I think that advancing digitalization is the first step toward the introduction of the AI. This is the first point.

The second point is that in the area of administrative digitalization, which is progressing, there are quite a lot of figures in what you have just announced, and it is being dealt with by looking at figures, but I think we need to look at it a little more in terms of user experience. Earlier, someone said that he would like us to have design thinking, and I completely agree with that. The number of administrative services supported is important, but on the other hand, it is important for Digital Agency to confirm the digitalization of each ministry and agency to see if the digitalization of administrative services based on user experience is being created properly. Next is a user satisfaction survey. I think it would be good if user satisfaction was KGI, but I think it would be good for Digital Agency to conduct a questionnaire on the final satisfaction of users rather than the number of services supported, including digital services of other ministries and agencies.

In this case, there are two types of users. First of all, there is the government side. This is a BtoBtoC type of service, so I think there is a degree of satisfaction on the part of the government. The other is that the score should be calculated by taking both the degree of satisfaction of the residents who are beyond it. If the score is low, it means that there is a lack of design thinking. If you can do this well, I think that it will advance in the real use of digitalization in Japanese society. I hope that this will be included in the proposal a little more.

Lastly, the fourth point is that there is a rapid possibility that the concept of the user will change. As Mr. Mikitani and others have mentioned, the number of AI agents, mainly general business operators, will increase in the future, and we will enter an era in which an AI will do various work on the Internet on behalf of us. There is no doubt that receiving administrative services is one of the fields we would most like to give to AI agents in the current human sense. I think that sooner or later, AI agents will probably receive administrative services on behalf of humans. If you carry out design thinking, which I mentioned earlier, with that in mind, you will be able to change to the world's most advanced digitalization or AI administrative services. Digital Agency should have in advance the idea of making it easier for humans to use and for AI agents to use, and give instructions to each ministry and agency. I hope that these will be measured as scores.

That's all from me.

Chairman Murai: Thank you,

Kawabe-san, I think the current point is also important. If you look at BtoBtoC, the user's perspective, and the analog residual rate in real life, even if the root of various administrative services is digitalization, there are private companies that actually provide services there, for example, and I think that there are some parts that do not change easily.

In short, there are private services in places where analog ones remain, and quite orthodox services, such as construction and automobiles, are private. In the past, there were administrative procedures behind it, so it's all done with that. These places leave a very long tail of seals and paper. What do you think we should do with these?

KAWABE, Member: , that's exactly the theme of the construction being done at the regulatory reform Conference right now, and I think we have no choice but to discuss it all together.

Chairman Murai: Then, in short, you will approach each field.

KAWABE, Member: That's right. In each field, I think we have no choice but to do one thing and do another this term.

Chairman Murai: , I think so too, but if we have to do it in a little systematic way and sort it out, is it to create that system somewhere and do it once the method is decided? That's what I thought after listening to what Mr. Kawabe said earlier. So this is not Digital Agency's job, but as the control tower of the digital society, I think Digital Agency has to figure out who is doing the right thing to solve this problem. That's what I thought after listening to what you just said. Thank you very much.

Mr. Watanabe, thank you for waiting.

Member: My name is Sota Watanabe. I usually run start-ups such as Web3 and blockchain. I joined the company this time. Nice to meet you.

There are three points. The first point is the numerical value that Mr. Digital Agency is working on. I think it is wonderful. Among them, I have one proposal. Our mission is to realize a digital society that meets the needs of each person without leaving anyone behind. By what year should it be done? There were various numbers and strategies, but for example, the spread of the My Number system by 2100
If we are aiming for a 100% rate, I think this is very good progress. However, if we are aiming for 100% by 2030, I think this is a bit of a bad idea. If that timeline does not match, all strategies and tactics will be off, so I thought it would be better to have a center pin that aims for this by that particular year.

The second point is about the situation. As you mentioned in the paper, the AI is evolving. This is also true in the context of technology. It may be out of my jurisdiction, but the political and economic situations are also evolving at a dizzying pace, so I think I should include that in this paper.

For example, now that the neoliberal context is coming to an end, it has been said that we are in an era of division, and I believe that Japan is becoming extremely important geopolitically. Amidst this, I believe that it is extremely important how Japan is communicating internationally in terms of technology × culture, for example. For example, in the context of robots or AI × robots, I wonder whether American people will conquer or be conquered in particular.
For example, the world of Doraemon, Atom, AI, and robots living in harmony with nature is described historically. I think it will be an interesting initiative to globally disseminate such information.

Last but not least, as Kawabe-san and Mikitani-san mentioned, I believe that AI agents will become extremely important. Not only AI, but also quantum computers and blockchains will be involved, and conversations and monetary exchanges between AI agents will be possible in blockchains, so instead of humans versus AI, humans will input prompts into AI, and administrative services including communication between AI and AI, system design will become extremely important.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: Thank you,

Mr. Watanabe, as Mr. Mikitani mentioned earlier, by what year, and what can be done by when, including the current direction of technology, I think it would be better for those who understand it to write it, so I would also appreciate it if you could tell me about it. Thank you very much.

Well, Mr. Ito, please go ahead.

Prof. Ito: Thank you, Thank you,

I think you've heard a lot about this before, but when you look at the documents and look at the recent activities of the Digi-Agency, the fact that it is moving forward with a fairly basic digital transformation in digitalization is very impressive, and I think it is very good that it is moving forward. It was also mentioned in the AI section earlier, but I think there are many laws, regulations, and Architecture in the first place that are not moving properly even though digital is progressing. For example, there is a regular theory of DFFT based on personal data and various Architecture, but when I try to create a model using actual medical data, there are various obstacles, and I think that various parts are separated in each ministry and agency. For example, in the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and in Ministry of Justice.

Within the Digital TV Agency, I think there will be a chief architect for policies and regulations, but I think it is necessary to coordinate Architecture and regulations. Since digitalization has made progress, it is a waste that technical Architecture and regulations do not have a proper impact. What cannot be done even if there is a vision is navigation of laws and policies, and if the Digital TV Agency does not do it, who will do it? Aside from whether it can be included in the document, I think it is a challenge. I think there will be cooperation with other ministries and agencies.

Also, I think we have just talked about agents, and Mr. Sota Watanabe is good at this, and so is the Minister, but in the talk of Web3, for example, as the My Number system advances, agents advance, blockchains advance, and taxes advance, it will be interesting to integrate them, for example, as a means of local financing, and various things that have not been imagined so far will arise, so all the things that have been digitalization will be divided vertically, and taxes will become more efficient, and so on. However, when blockchains, agents, AI, IDs, and taxes all digitalization, it is important to have a vision that we can do things that have not been imagined so far, and I think that if we do not separate them, but have a vision that integrates them a little, including engineers, we will be able to envision an interesting future.

Thank you,

Chairman Murai: Thank you,

I think this is also an important point. We have started discussions on two aspects. One is that digital data exists in each department, of course. As mentioned in the report by Professor Itoh earlier, digital data in the country itself, something like a registry, for example, personal data, medical data, and electronic data, which are restricted by the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, as pointed out by Professor Digital Agency, and all kinds of digital data, of course, exist within the jurisdiction of each ministry and agency. When we look at digital data as a whole and talk about how to create an easy-to-use society as a Ukami, although the Personal Information Protection Act and other laws mentioned earlier are at the root, the idea that digital data should be used as the foundation of a new AI society, that is, digital data should be a part of the new infrastructure, is still a little weak, so I think it is very important to talk about what to do.

The other point is that the horizontal connection of technology means that the Architecture of digital technology in society must see how the whole picture can be seen, and the work of the Digital Agency or the country must progress. I think that point is very important, so I thought it would be good if we could make such an approach. Thank you very much.

Mr. Murakami, please go ahead.

Mr. Murakami: I would like to take the floor in .

I am the Chief Data Officer of the Sompo Japan Insurance, and I am participating today in my capacity as a member of the Japan Business Federation. I am also the Director of the government's AI Safety Institute.

To the people of Digital Agency, thank you very much for compiling solid recommendations in this way. I submitted my final tax return the other day, and I think I can truly say that as a citizen of digitalization, the benefits of digital technology are increasing, and if you realize that your life has become more convenient, it will accelerate. This is only due to the establishment of Digital Agency.
I think it's fruit.

First of all, speaking from the standpoint of Keidanren, although the collaboration of data within industry and ministries and agencies was mentioned earlier, each company has its own data in detail. By ensuring the distribution of data in such areas, I believe we can expect the revitalization of industry. Last week, Keidanren announced its second recommendation on the establishment of an industrial data space.
As the control tower, I would like Digital Agency to firmly proceed with this. As was mentioned earlier, I would like the Government of Japan to formulate and implement a unified strategy and roadmap with a firm timeline.

In addition to that, not only the industrial data space but also other data types need to be prepared, and in technical terms, if the schema is not unified, it can be quite different. In particular, I am aware that it is not possible to force local governments to share digital tools to improve efficiency, but I would like to see local governments or industry groups take the lead in unifying the schema. Digital Agency

In addition, while several people have mentioned the security of AI, I believe that not only false / erroneous information and security, but also fairness and transparency-in particular, when national or local governments utilize AI - will become very important. I would like to see guidance on these areas as well.

Lastly, I feel that cooperation between the public and private sectors is essential for data-based and digital connectivity in the digital age. I hope that Digital Agency, as the control tower for Japan's digital policy, will firmly advance this as well, and I am eager to further secure and expand personnel in Digital Agency.

That's all from me.

Chairman Murai: .

It is true that since the establishment of Digital Agency, we have been working to realize demands and requests unique to the digital field, such as how to achieve public-private cooperation in Kasumigaseki. In my first explanation today, I believe we have already accumulated knowledge to be shared, such as transitions and difficulties. I think it is important to reiterate this as a very important aspect.

Mr. Wakamiya, please go ahead.

Wakamiya, M. Can I share my screen? Thank you.

In my case, I am thinking of promoting services for the general public. The biggest problem is the elderly, and what to do with those who think digital has nothing to do with them?

This is material from Cabinet Office, and the blueish areas on the top are men and women. There is not much difference between men and women in any country, but in the case of Japanese women, only about half of the men are able to use digital technology. Also, the age gap decreases little by little as people age in any country, but in the case of Japan, it decreases sharply, and it decreases sharply after the age of 70, so the gap is extremely wide.

To give you an idea of the extent to which this is a problem of literacy, people often say that the manner mode should be set, but they think they know how to set it. It seems that everyone is doing it in the world, but a lecture meeting is held in Yokosuka City, not in a senior citizens' club. Even ordinary citizens are doing it, and they have started the lecture meeting after showing on the screen that the manner mode should be set. This is a matter of common sense.
And. Also, there are quite a few people who don't know the difference between manner mode and airplane mode.

Next, please.

However, location information is very important for crisis management and evacuation information. Location information is good, but devices are used to explain it. Why do devices appear there? I think people who understand the word device probably understand location information.

Another thing is that our lifestyles are completely different, even before the digital era. We, the elderly, don't need to work in a hurry or do a lot of work at once, so I don't want them to think too much about efficiency.

Everyone can borrow books from the library. The reason is that you have to type A, I, U, E, and O. However, it is said that if you use your left hand to input characters, you can't get close to it.

In the beginning, you just need to use one finger. However, Mr. digital supporters is going to teach you how to do it formally, so I would like you to consider that as well.

One more thing, I can't help forgetting. My sons don't want their grandmother to tell them anything anymore. It's annoying to hear the same thing over and over again. I certainly think it's annoying. What should I do about it?

When you type, it's not that difficult. It's normal spoken language. This is just a mutual exchange, so it doesn't matter if it's a dialect or whatever, as long as you can respond verbally with letters, you have to respond later by saying, "That was done a week ago, so don't use words like scroll, keep going up, it will come out."

Please do not think that the elderly and other such people know or understand this. Otherwise, for example, if they are asked if their GPS is turned on or if it should be enabled because they will be in trouble if they do not know their location information when they evacuate, they will not know whether it is enabled or not. I hope they understand this.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: Thank you,

Mr. Wakamiya is so great that we may not be aware of some of the details, but I think it will be a very useful reference for the digital rescue team and other people. Thank you very much.

Then, Mr. Iwasaki, please go ahead.

Member Iwasaki: I'm Iwasaki. Thank you.

My name is Iwasaki from the E-Government and Local Government Research Institute at Waseda University. I will be taking the position from this time. Thank you very much for the valuable opportunity.

I usually do research on e-government, local government, and the development of IT human resources such as CiOS.

First of all, based on what Mr. Tomiyasu explained at the beginning, I believe that the use of digital technology in society has been making steady progress. This is truly the result of the efforts of all those involved, and I hope to see continued results.

With regard to the dashboard, I can understand that the effects of budget and human resource disparities, which are issues in promoting Municipal DX, are becoming apparent. On the other hand, as you mentioned AI agents, I think it will be possible to realize administrative services in the future that can be handled without people if we utilize technology. We are referring to it as the AI Creation Government, etc., and we will update our technology and digitize with the aim of overall optimization, such as reducing disparities.
I think it is important to build a support system.

I am repeating myself, but the E-Government and Local Government Research Institute of Waseda University analyzes and evaluates the progress of digital government in 66 countries around the world using 37 benchmarks in 10 fields, and announces the results every year. We have evaluated the rankings while advancing discussions with the United Nations, the OECD, and others.

In terms of the current position of global digital government, Japan was ranked 11th out of 66 countries in 2024, and 13th out of 193 countries in the most recent UN e-Government World Ranking, which is announced once every two years. I have surveyed Waseda's ranking over the past 19 years, and I think that Japan is relatively among the top countries, thanks to the contribution of its digital infrastructure and digital strategy, which are Japan's strengths. Optical fiber, 5G, data centers, etc. Overall evaluation is also high
So, I think they are aiming for a highly reliable digital government.

For your information, at the end of last year, the top-ranked country, Singapore, announced the second phase of its Smart Nation Initiative, which aims to invest heavily in AI, enhance human resource development programs that leverage it to bring innovation, and support innovative research into healthcare science. With the introduction of the Digital Infrastructure Act, it aims to transform trust, growth, and the future of communities. First of all, there are major objections to the outline of Priority Plan in fiscal 2025.
I would like to see the Japanese position and future construction of Priority Plan in reference to the global digital strategies.

With regard to the future direction and priority policies, this year marks the 20th anniversary of our ranking, so I would like to set a deadline for Japan to become one of the top countries in the world, and I would like to address three issues, including global issues.

First of all, in Japan, I think it is time to evaluate and reconsider the initial objectives of the standardization of Municipal DX and the promotion of the Government Cloud. In that sense, I think it is necessary to revise Priority Plan. First of all, I think it is necessary to rebuild the future goal setting in an agile manner based on how much regional digitalization have advanced through the promotion of digitalization and have been able to cope with labor shortages, and how much they have contributed to business reform, productivity improvement, or administrative and fiscal reform through the utilization of AI and innovation.

On the global front, I have two questions. First of all, I would like to see Japan build a digital government to solve the issues of population decline and the aging population, and see it as one of the strategies to contribute overseas. I believe it can also contribute to eliminating the digital deficit of 6 trillion yen. I believe that the digital hegemony competition between the United States and China is gaining momentum now, but the United States has begun to reduce its foreign aid. I believe that Japan should not reduce its ODA, but rather expand it globally with the idea of Japan in the world, with the recognition that it is a digital government to solve the aging problem, which will soon become a global challenge in other countries. As for making friends for this purpose, I believe that Japan can also be expected to be a base for ASEAN, such as Singapore.

The second point is about the standardization of digital government. I am also a member of the Local Government System Research Council. Cooperation between the central and local governments is progressing, but there are still challenges. It is important to think about standardization within Japan, but I think it can be said to be standardization only when it can be used globally in the future. On the other hand, it is necessary to carefully analyze from the perspective of why Japan cannot do it even if other countries can do it. I would like to consider customizing a Japanese version so that it can be utilized in Japan, learning from the good points of other countries.

In terms of services and applications, I believe that disaster response and the field of disaster risk reduction would be effective. In terms of knowledge on disaster risk reduction, I personally feel that overseas countries are also in great need of Japanese cases, where there are many disasters. As Digital Agency has entered its fourth year since its establishment, I would like to conclude my comment by expressing my hope that the time has come to do so.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: .

I believe that the evaluation of the effects, the evaluation of the package as a digitalization of a country with a declining population, packaging that can contribute to other new countries facing such issues, and standardization are all very important issues. I think there are things that have not been expressed in the current proposal, and I do not know how to theme digital policies for a declining population.
Although it was a very important issue that was discussed many times in words, I do not think we discussed how it could be understood as a specific theme, so I believe it was a very valuable opinion. Thank you very much.

Chairman Murai: I believe we have heard your opinions in general, but I would like to hear if you have any other thoughts after hearing other people's opinions. Is that OK?

We received very valuable opinions and will incorporate them into this fiscal year's Priority Plan. The process is also taking place in Digital Agency.

Mr. Wakamiya, since you raised your hand, please go ahead.

Wakamiya, M. : As Mr. Iwasaki mentioned, we need to make good examples in Japan and introduce them to other countries. The most important question is how to respond to the aging society. Yesterday, I was in Taipei, Taiwan, where the population is aging. I am thinking about how to use IT as a measure against the aging society. Therefore, I think the first thing that foreign countries have needs and want to learn from Japan, a super-aging country, is measures against the aging society.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: Thank you,

There are other countries that are approaching that feature, and I believe it will make a huge contribution if we package them together. Thank you very much.

Do you have any other comments?

I would like to summarize your valuable opinions, but on the other hand, time is very limited, and Digital Agency has too many expectations as the control tower of the digital society in Kasumigaseki, and the atmosphere in this room is that people in Digital Agency have mixed faces when they say the control tower of the digital society, but that is not the case, and even if I say so, I think we have to do it, so when I visited you at the beginning of today, I made a request from the perspective of promoting the digital society. The document itself is used in the sense of promoting the digital society and expressing the social concept, so in that sense, I think it is correct to say without flinching.

On the other hand, as you reported at the beginning, the number of people in Digital Agency is still far from the initial target after several years of development. On the other hand, under the system of gathering a large amount of wisdom from the public and private sectors, we have been taking quite strict measures, and I think the results are appearing on this dashboard. So, at the previous meeting as well, I asked you to look at the Digital Agency dashboard, and in doing so, I would like you to gather your knowledge on what roles Japan and this country will play in the world.

Since you are the control tower, it is necessary to compile this document while confirming it with each ministry and agency. The ruling party also has such an idea, so it will be necessary to merge them, and we need to compile it around mid-May, so we need to work very quickly. So, although it is difficult to say what the schedule will be, the major work will be based on the compilation of your opinions, and as I just mentioned, it will be circulated or announced on several domains, and we will compile it while receiving input. In the course of this, at least a circular, e-mail-based meeting will be planned, and if possible, an online meeting will be planned. In that meeting, it will be confirmed, and after mid-May, I think there will be a situation where people will leave Digital Agency and leave Digital Agency to me and the secretariat. Until we reach that quality, I would like to continue to send the opinions of the members to the secretariat, or when there is such an online-based interaction, I would like to ask for your cooperation by commenting on it.

That's all from me. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much for today.

Now, I will return it to the office.

Secretariat: This is the Secretariat.

Mr. Kishi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, will conclude his remarks.

Nice to meet you, Mr. Kishi.

Mr. Kishi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Digital Transformation: Minister , since the Senior Vice-Minister is not at his desk, I would like to say a few words on his behalf.

Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to have a very lively discussion today.

During today's discussion, I learned a lot from your comments on our recognition of the current situation, issues including AI agents, data-related strategies, various issues, timelines, time axes, designs from the users' perspective, whether analog regulations need to be reformed in the first place, and function, the commander of Digital Agency.

Including the opinions received at today's meeting, we would like to proceed with consideration toward the formulation of Priority Plan this summer. I would like to ask for the continued guidance of all the members.

Thank you very much for today.

Chairman Murai: Thank you very much.

With that, I would like to conclude today's meeting.

Thank you very much.