6th Digital Society Initiative Conference

Last Updated:: Mar 27, 2023

Overview

Date and Time: Wednesday, March 1, 2023 from 13:30 to 15:00
Location: Online
Agenda:
1. Opening
2. Agenda
  1. Status and Efforts after the Formulation of the Priority Plan Plan in Fiscal 2022
3. Adjournment

Meeting Video

The conference can be viewed on YouTube (Digital Agency official channel).

6th Digital Society Initiative Conference (YouTube)

Material

Minutes

Secretariat: Thank you, It's time to start the "Digital Society Initiative Meeting."

At the outset, I have an announcement from the secretariat.

Today's meeting will be held online.

In accordance with the prescribed operational guidelines, this meeting was confirmed by Chairman Murai, and this time it was held in a manner open to the press and others. I would like to announce that members of the press are attending the meeting online.

From here, Mr. Murai, please start.

Chairman Murai: .

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us today.

I heard that nine members including me will be attending online today, and Member Ota, Member Koshizuka, and Member Mikitani will not be attending, but we have received a written opinion in advance, so I would like to share it with you later.

I heard that member Muraoka will be leaving in the middle of the meeting. I would appreciate it if you could give us your opinion when we discuss. Thank you in advance.

I also welcome State Minister Okushi and Parliamentary Vice-Minister Ozaki, who are attending from Digital Agency.

So, without further ado, I would like to hear greetings from State Minister for Digital Transformation Okushi. Thank you very much.

State Minister for Digital Transformation, Okushi: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend the Digital Society Initiative Conference. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Chairman Murai and all the other members of the conference.

In June last year, we listened to the valuable opinions of our members and formulated Priority Plan for the Realization of a Digital Society. Priority Plan will serve as a compass for the government as a whole to work together on themes such as depicting the future vision of the digital society and solving issues in structural reforms and rural areas, in order to realize a world-class digital society in Japan at a time when its significance is increasing dramatically due to the progress of digital technology. In Digital Agency, we have been working on the Digital Provisional Administrative Survey Committee and promoting the spread of Vision for a Digital Garden City Nation and My Number Card based on Priority Plan. Priority Plan is formulated every fiscal year based on Basic Act on the Formation of a Digital Society, and will be revised this summer based on the status of progress.

At today's meeting, I would like to take this opportunity as a kick-off to the revision of the Priority Plan List, and I would very much appreciate your frank opinions from a broad perspective. Thank you very much.

Chairman Murai: .

Now, I would like to begin the proceedings. This time, as the situation and initiatives since the formulation of the Priority Plan Plan in fiscal 2022, I would like you to explain the initiatives so far, and as the first round, I would like to hear your opinions on the next Priority Plan Plan. Although some of the opinions heard in advance have already been included in various discussions, I would like to ask for an explanation from the secretariat regarding the situation and initiatives since the formulation of the Priority Plan Plan in fiscal 2022.

Director-General Tomiyasu: This is Tomiyasu from Group of Strategy and Organization, . Nice to meet you.

Let me explain based on Material 1.

First of all, please take a look at the table of contents. As for the content of today's explanation, I will first introduce various countries and international trends. I will also explain the various initiatives that have been taken in Digital Agency since the formulation of the Priority Plan. Lastly, as Professor Murai just mentioned, based on the opinions I have heard in advance, we are organizing the revision of the Priority Plan.

Let's move forward.

It is on page 4. I have compiled "Recent International Trends" in a simple piece of paper. Initiatives related to data, digital, and AI are making significant progress.

The value of data is increasing dramatically. As data affects national competitiveness, efforts by various countries are becoming more active. Discussions on the security of data are also developing rapidly. In addition, the development of mechanisms for data distribution and utilization is progressing.

The specific items starting on page 5 are entitled "Trends in Various Countries' Data Strategies," which position the data strategy as a blueprint for the digital society, and which are being promoted in various countries, including the United States and Europe.

On pages 6 and 7, we have briefly introduced various developments in the legal aspects and related policies of each country.

On pages 8 and 9, there is "Trends in Other Countries' AI," and on page 9 in particular, various reports have been released by the Task Force on AI in the United States since 2023, and active efforts are being made, including the US-India Initiative.

In Japan, working groups are working on data-related strategies mainly in Digital Agency, and the CSTI is creating and promoting AI strategies for AI. In particular, based on the recent rapid overseas developments regarding AI, I think it is necessary to consider various issues for Priority Plan from such a perspective.

Next is "Major Initiatives of Digital Agency since the Formulation of the Priority Plan Plan." Page 11.

While Priority Plan is a whole-of-government initiative, I would like to introduce Digital Agency's initiatives here.

First of all, as it is written in writing, the organization has expanded from 600 people at the beginning to 800 people, and 300 people have come to private sector personnel. On the other hand, there are high expectations for Digital Agency, and the workload has increased considerably, so the number of people is still insufficient. However, we are working on the projects described here.

Specifically, from page 12 onward, on pages 12, 13, 14, and 15, we introduce that we have established meeting bodies such as the Digital Ad Hoc Committee and the Data Strategy Promotion Working Group, and are steadily advancing our efforts, with teachers from the Conceptual Meeting participating in some of the meetings.

In addition, as stated in 7 on page 12, we are earnestly preparing for the DFFT for G7 Digital and Tech Ministers' Meeting in April.

Next, I will explain some of the individual details from page 16.

This is a so-called digital ad hoc initiative to check and review regulations in light of the digital principles. Although I will not explain in detail, this initiative is to review regulations that are based on analog and involve people and paper, based on digital technology.

As you can see on page 18, when we searched laws and regulations again, there were about 10,000 articles, including provisions on floppy disks and other storage media. We have compiled a timetable to proceed with these policies over the next two years.

Page 19 briefly describes the effects of this regulatory review. As for the labor shortage, I will explain later, but I believe that by clearly indicating that digital technology will be utilized in the future, such as solving the labor shortage in the field, it will contribute to economic growth through the rise of startups and the creation of growth industries.

It is on page 20. I mentioned earlier that there are 10,000 Articles, but they are examples that are easy to understand. Digital technologies such as drones will be used for visually inspecting rivers and dams. As for the impact, as written in blue, the total river length is 120,000 kilometers and there are 110,000 urban parks.

In addition, as stated in the second point, there is a provision from the Ministry of Occupational Health and Safety that a specified principal employer must patrol the workplace once a day, and we believe that it will be possible to reduce the burden on employers with labor shortage issues by utilizing remote monitoring, etc. using fixed-point cameras and mobile cameras.

On pages 21 and 22, there are some typical examples, but I will skip them. On page 23, as I mentioned earlier that it is a technology map, digital technologies can replace regulations that involve paper and people, so I would like to introduce specific technologies in a technology catalog behind it. By introducing it to each ministry and agency, I would like them to understand that such technologies can replace them, and I would like companies to use them in the future and use them for future investment, so I would like to create such a map.

As I have time to spare, I will skip pages 24, 25, and 26, but it is on page 28. We are currently working on promoting My Number Card. In Digital Agency, we are updating our website once a week to introduce My Number Card, linking to health insurance cards, and other such information, and we are promoting data-based policies while analyzing the causes of each rise and fall. By the way, this is the latest one on February 19, but in My Number Card alone, based on applications, the number of applications has exceeded nine. When we update the materials and publish them externally, we will add new ones and publish them.

As it becomes more widespread, we will promote its use, and I think it is important for people to feel it convenient, so I will introduce some typical examples. I am very sorry to say this in front of Mayor Ikeda, but I will introduce some examples of Mr. Miyakonojo City's initiatives, which are more than 90%, and are being used very much, such as more than 50% of certificates of residence issued at convenience stores.

On page 30, there is a story that it is used for various things such as library cards, non-writing counters and staff identification cards in other municipalities, and on page 31, we introduce an example of Kitami City as a typical example of non-writing counters.

Next, on page 32, we are supporting initiatives that utilize the Digita Concept and My Number Card. I have introduced a conceptual diagram here, but as a service rooted in residents, Digita is working with the idea of expanding the service area and deploying it horizontally rather than focusing on the medical, transportation, and disaster prevention fields, and we are also supporting initiatives that use My Number Card.

In addition, page 33 is the entrance to Mynaportal, where you can conveniently do My Number Card on your smartphone in various ways. For Mynaportal, we are trying to make it user-friendly so that it is easy to use, and to make it a front desk that meets the needs of users to "find," "check," and "not forget," by creating a solid demonstration version and confirming their opinions.

On pages 34 and 35, we will introduce various functions that have been expanded in Mynaportal since the inauguration of Digital Agency.

Pages 38 and 39 refer to the public service mesh. At the time of the inauguration of Digital Agency, we set out that "procedures can be completed in 60 seconds on a smartphone" and "administrative services can be launched in seven days," and we will make them like the North Star, and we will organize and advance the issues involved in moving toward this point, as written in particular on page 39. Among them, we are currently advancing various efforts with the goal of renovating the information coordination infrastructure between administrative agencies and using local government resident information to provide push-type services for residents.

Next, please refer to page 41. Digital Agency was inaugurated, the digital supporters system was created, and digital supporters appointments began in fiscal 2022, and currently more than 20000 people have been appointed.

Let me move on to the initiatives in semi-public sector from page 43 onward. As I mentioned earlier in my remarks about medical care, disaster prevention, and education, we are also advancing medical digital transformation (DX) based on these three pillars. In particular, we are advancing the third initiative in DX of the process of Medical Fees Revisions, medical fee revisions, which are labor-intensive and require vendors to hire people for a very short period of time, once every two years. We believe that this can be made significantly more efficient through the use of digital technologies.

Pages 44 and 45 are related to medical DX, and page 46 shows the concept of data collaboration in the education field, which will be promoted in both academic and learning fields.

In the area of disaster risk reduction, on page 47, I stated that we will firmly create a disaster risk reduction Architecture. As you can see on page 48, we have established the Disaster Risk Reduction DX Public-Private Joint Creation Council, which has 287 members, including many local governments and the private sector. Together with Architecture, which I mentioned earlier, we would like to proceed with consideration of necessary issues and what initiatives are necessary going forward.

Page 49 is a study group on the ideal digital transportation society.

From page 50 onward, we will briefly introduce digital invoices. With regard to digital invoices, there is a problem that if the standard specifications are not consistent, the data will not connect, so as shown on page 51, document specifications and global standard specifications for exchanging electronic documents called Peppol on the network will be created, and a system will be created based on them. So far, there has been talk about people entering data when the seller's system and the buyer's system are different. Using Peppol, we will create a system that directly links data without human intervention. In the future, we will promote digitalization of back offices of SMEs, and I think this will support SMEs by creating more user-friendly and efficient back offices.

It's after page 53. Data Strategy Promotion Working Group, I said at the beginning that the working group in Digital Agency is leading the compilation of data strategy promotion. As you can see on page 54, base registry, trust, data linkage infrastructure, and DFFT are among the data strategy projects that we would like to focus on.

Page 55 is about the idea of the Base Registry, and I think the background is important. The Base Registry has conducted various demonstration projects, but what is the scope of disclosure depending on the purpose of use? In addition, while it is important to ensure quality such as the freshness and accuracy of the information source that is the source of the data in order to organize the data, it is necessary to consider it in an integrated manner depending on the roles of the data and the information source. Also, I have come to understand that various man-hours are required as a background.

As a response measure, we will create the scope of disclosure based on use cases. We have also organized our approach of dividing the base registries that have been developed or will be developed in the future according to the current status of data and information sources, as well as setting the focus areas of corporate, land, and real estate, and firmly advancing with a sharp focus.

Page 56 is a specific and easy-to-read table.

On page 57, there is a section on how to proceed with the establishment of a base registry for corporations, which has also been discussed in the Preliminary Meeting for the Introduction of Digital Technology. There are three sections, (1), (2), and (3), which explain how to proceed with the establishment of a base registry for corporations.

On page 58 and thereafter, there is a piece of paper titled "Data Space Economy." As I just stated, based on data, we are working to create new value in collaboration. If we make further progress, we will be able to obtain real-time data from business operators, and in response, production and distribution will be decided, or data will suggest such things. With the idea of "an economy in which data space leads the real economy," I put a piece of paper in this direction as a broad concept.

On page 60, we introduce GAIA-X and other efforts being made in the EU regarding connectors.

From page 62 onward, Digital Agency took the lead in compiling the government's views on Web3.0 last summer. We held a study group on Web3.0, and after quite vigorous discussions, we have organized our views.

From page 67 onward, it will be a large-scale one provided by Digital Agency, and the common functions of the Government Cloud and the Government Solution Service will be to integrate the LANs of each ministry.

In addition, as stated on page 71, a basic policy was formulated last year for the standardization of local government systems, and we intend to firmly support the transition of each local government.

Next, as you can see on page 74, we briefly introduce Digital Agency's global and international positions. We will learn what is necessary while studying these points that are appreciated or not appreciated.

Lastly, on page 78, regarding the "Toward the Revision of the Priority Plan Plan," as I have just stated, it is of course necessary to revise the Priority Plan Plan based on the status of initiatives after the formulation of the Okinawa Plan or the international situation. However, as we have received various opinions in advance, the "X" part of the digital transformation is difficult, and various initiatives are necessary to realize it. Also, I have written an explanation that initiatives are necessary not only from the supply side but also from the demand side, and that an international perspective is necessary, but I will omit it due to time constraints.

I look forward to receiving your frank opinions today. Thank you very much.

Chairman Murai: Thank you very much.

Today, we will have a meeting to hear your opinions on what should be included in the next plan. Regarding the promotion of the digital society, I have heard that this country is currently working on it as a whole-of-government effort by combining regulatory reform and others through digital transformation and digitalization. Based on this, I would like to ask for your opinions on what should be included in Digital Agency, such as the promotion of the digital society across the government and what Priority Plan should do. Thank you very much.

Then, may I introduce the opinion submitted by the absent member of the committee?

Secretariat: Thank you, Secretariat.

First of all, in Document 2, I received a document from Mikitani-san.

If I may briefly repeat what I said earlier, the outline states that we will make Japan a country where "people, knowledge, and money" gather from all over the world. The three basic policies for achieving this are lowering globally high taxes and promoting and utilizing "new combinations."

From there, there are five pillars, so if you follow them in order, firstly, in order to win global competition in the digital age, the tax rate should be drastically lowered and a new money flow centered on the private sector should be created, and issues such as global human resource acquisition / competition for corporate location, crypto-assets, and public interest corporation reform have been raised.

The second is about human resources. It says, "In light of the current situation of an overwhelming shortage of digital human resources, we should enact a' Basic Law on Immigration' and drastically reform our educational style." It talks about the principle of accepting foreigners and proposes a new educational style.

On the next page, it says that expanding the number of teachers with business experience is in response to the digital society.

The third pillar says, "We should abolish the Galapagos regulations and work on regulatory reform, etc., to ensure thorough implementation of the digitalization." It should clearly state the principles of eliminating restrictions imposed on so-called C2C businesses, the mobilization of business models through the digitalization, complete digitalization and zero cash society through the revision of the Basic Act on the Formation of a Digital Society, and thorough opening of APIs. It should install My Number Card functions on smartphones, realize the establishment of a base registry as soon as possible, and build the foundation of a digital society as soon as possible. It should also introduce regulations that prohibit competitive inhibition and fee regulations.

The fourth story is related to startups. It was decided in November 2022 that "While steadily implementing the five year Plan to Foster Startups, we should address further issues," and recommendations such as the creation of a marketplace for secondary markets were made.

The fifth point is, "In addition to thorough implementation of the EBPM, we should implement a strategic response based on a policy mix." Therefore, we set KPIs, segmented them into trees, and implemented thorough implementation of the EBPM to manage progress.

In addition, instead of introducing foreign systems superficially and ideologically, it is a strategic response based on a policy mix from a broad perspective, and the link to the Shinkeiren's policy recommendations is attached as a reference.

This is Mr. Mikitani's.

In addition, Mr. Ota also provided his opinion, and on the first sheet, based on the case study of the UK GDS, he made four recommendations from the perspective of organizational reform.

The first is "Quick Wins," which is a small but successful initial experience. In Digital Agency, there is a vaccination certificate app for the novel coronavirus. There is also the revamped Mynaportal that you mentioned earlier. In the new Priority Plan as well, we should carefully select and clearly indicate "Quick Wins" and make efforts to widely spread them.

The second is visualization. As I have heard from you in the past, as indicators to grasp the progress of digitalization in Priority Plan from a broad perspective, we should set the satisfaction levels of the people and private companies, utilization rates, etc., regularly grasp them, clarify them to the people, and implement them. The visualization of the gap between the vision and the current situation is what I have heard.

The third is "Motivation through Awards," which aims to accelerate the efforts of relevant ministries, agencies, local governments, and private companies by awarding services and systems related to the realization of the desired society, and to clarify and share not only the awards but also the digital principles that were the driving force behind their implementation.

The last one is "sharing tools that enable innovation," and we received a suggestion that the tools and knowledge necessary for realizing services and systems in Digital Agency should be shared with other ministries, agencies, and local governments. We also received a suggestion that a mechanism for sharing procurement and contract methods and user testing should be included.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: Thank you very much.

I will be able to hear your views for a little less than an hour. As I said earlier, I would like you to discuss this issue without being preoccupied with various issues. However, may I ask Mr. Muraoka, a member of the Council, to speak first?

MURAOKA Member: Hello, I am Muraoka, the governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Chairman Murai, thank you very much for your consideration.

I would like to make a few comments.

First of all, in Digital Agency, as you just mentioned, I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation for the very strong and speedy progress that has been made in digitalization by various societies as a whole.

I believe that we in local communities must also work as one to advance our efforts. Today, on behalf of the National Governors' Association, I would like to make remarks on issues for our efforts and matters that I would like to see incorporated into the next Priority Plan.

There is no objection to the current direction, but I would like to make four major points, although there will be a lot of practical discussions, in order to make the process smoother and achieve results.

The first one is about the inspection and review of analog regulations. The inspection and review of analog regulations, for regional areas where population decline is progressing, I think it is very important from the perspective of solving labor shortages and improving productivity by improving operational efficiency.

In order to support local efforts, the central government has formulated a manual for inspections and reviews, and in the future, each local government will use this as a reference to promote the review of analog regulations that exist in the ordinance, regulations, etc.

In doing so, there will be many tasks such as identifying and revising the relevant ordinance, etc., and applying digital technology on the ground, so I am concerned that there will be differences in the progress among local governments, especially small local governments with limited staff. In order to prevent such differences, I would like the national government to show specific examples of amendments to ordinance, etc., for each type of regulation. Also, as you mentioned earlier, you mentioned a wide range of examples for the applicable digital technology catalog. If you could show them in an easy-to-understand manner so that small local governments in particular can choose products and services without hesitation, I think they would be able to respond very smoothly. I would like to request support in a practical manner that is close to the ground.

The second question is related to the promotion of the use of My Number Card. The use of My Number Card has been spreading nationwide, and in this prefecture, the application rate is 73.6%, which is second in Japan, and the issuance rate is 65.1%, which is third in Japan. My Number Card has now entered the stage of utilization after spreading, and initiatives to introduce letterless writing desks using Suica are being promoted in cities and towns in each prefecture.

Amidst this, Digital Agency indicated that it would build and provide Municipal DXSaaS services counter. This will be a great support for municipalities, and I am very grateful.

On the other hand, in some municipalities that are considering the introduction of a non-writing window using the system already provided, the timing of the introduction is difficult to gauge.

For this reason, in order for each local government to be able to introduce the most appropriate service, we would like to receive information as soon as possible about the detailed functions related to Municipal DXSaaS services counter, the cost of introduction, and the method of cooperation with the core system, including a comparison with the existing private system.

In addition, seven years have passed since the issuance of the My Number Card, and the renewal of the electronic certificate for user identification and the five year renewal period will be in full swing. In particular, face-to-face identity verification at the counter will impose a heavy burden on both applicants and local governments. From the perspective of reviewing analog procedures, I would like to request that procedures be made quickly and without burden so that identity verification and online procedures using digital technology can be completed. In this regard, I would like to request that the simplification of renewal procedures be promoted in the next Priority Plan.

The third point is cooperation with digital supporters. digital supporters has been appointed in Digital Agency. I expect that the use of promotion committee members for initiatives such as smartphone classes in each region will create synergy effects.

However, we have not been provided with specific information on how many promotion committee members there are in each digital supporters, or who the promotion committee members are in the first place. In order to promote measures against the digital divide in local areas, we would like each local government to provide information on Priority Plan. We would also like the use of promotion committee members in local areas and support for them to be included in the next Okinawa Prefecture.

Finally, the fourth point is the promotion of Municipal DX. Toward the transition to standard compliance system using the Government Cloud, which is targeted for fiscal 2025, a survey of the transition schedule and transition expenses of each local government is being conducted, and various concerns have been expressed by municipalities. In particular, in the preliminary calculation of this prefecture associated with this survey, the cost of the transition is several times higher than the maximum subsidy amount indicated by the national government. In addition, the cost required for the organization of the existing system, which will be allocated separately, is also expected to be considerable. Therefore, the total cost of all local governments will be extremely large, and there are voices of great concern that local governments will bear a large burden.

Furthermore, although the national government has indicated that it will aim to reduce operating expenses, etc. related to systems subject to standardization by 30%, mainly in cities and towns where local government cloud has been introduced, there are concerns about whether operating expenses, etc. can be reduced compared to the current situation.

If these concerns are not dispelled, I am concerned that the transition could be halted. In order for the municipalities to overcome various issues and work with peace of mind, I would like the next Priority Plan to include that the national government will responsibly provide full support so that there will be no financial burden on the municipalities and that it will provide generous technical support so that all municipalities can make the transition without fail.

As I have said, the National Governors' Association will also work as one to develop national measures based on the next Priority Plan toward the realization of a digital society for the entire country. To that end, I would like the plan to actually take into account the various voices of local communities, including what I have just mentioned, so I would like to ask for your understanding.

That's all. Thank you very much.

Chairman Murai: Thank you very much.

Well, Natsuno-san, please go ahead.

Member Natsuno: .

Thank you very much for making a wonderful big package and plan.

"Among them, I think that the inspection and review of regulations in light of the digital principles on page 17 will be done comprehensively by the digital ad hoc committee. What we would like to request is that although the descriptions that need to be clearly stated and written will be revised more and more, in addition to that, I would like you to proceed so that things that are written on floppy disks or things that are to be submitted on paper for operational purposes are not leaked."

The second point is that as more and more things are registered based on this plan, I think there will be cases where digitalization will result in inconvenience. For example, a typical case now is that once you register for immigration customs declaration on Visit Japan Web, you go through the gate with your passport and a QR code issued by a kiosk terminal after checking it. It was much faster to go to the place where there were people with paper, so when I returned to Japan the other day, I went through all the procedures, but there were people standing in line, so I wrote a piece of paper again on the spot and went to the place where there were people. I think that implementation mistakes will happen in the future, so I would like to see how to check and fix them when these things happen included in the items to be considered in the future. This is the second point. digitalization

Lastly, on page 74, there was a discussion on international rankings. Depending on the item, I think there are some that deserve to be ranked fifth. In the remarks section, I think there is a mention of managers making excuses or using indicators that are disadvantageous to countries that are pessimistic about their own country. If Digital Agency sets a goal of achieving the top five in all categories and regularly announces to the public a summary of how it is viewed internationally, it will be a self-evaluation of digitalization itself. I also think that the fact that Okinawa has risen so much in the eyes of the outside world is extremely important in advancing Okinawa as a national movement. I would like to see Okinawa do that.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: .

Kawabe-san, please go ahead.

K. Kawabe: , thank you for your hard work. I'm Kawabe from the IT Federation of Z Holdings.

First of all, I commend the people of Digital Agency and the local governments for their wide-ranging and concrete efforts in Priority Plan and beyond.

In addition, I believe that since Minister Kono, you have been paying close attention to quick wins. I think it is also very good that you are paying close attention to quick wins. It is a very important perspective for reforms to proceed while the people understand that the digitalization of Japanese administration is progressing, such as with regard to vaccine passports, and I think this is also wonderful.

On the other hand, my overall impression is that there are still many things that need to be continued from the perspective of what we will do in this Priority Plan in the next fiscal year and beyond. It is an effort to change the analog administration that has continued for more than 100 years to a digital administration, which is a considerably large transformation, and I am aware that it cannot be completed in just one fiscal year, so there are many things that will continue.

By layer order on page 2 TOC level If I were to say what I think is important, first of all is the abolition of analog regulations, which is being carried out by the Digital Ad Hoc Committee. Unless this is done, the administration cannot shift to digital, so this is the fundamental premise in the first place.

Next, at the bottom of the layers, the government cloud, government solution services, and the unification and standardization of core business systems for local governments need to be done, or the digitalization of each local government will not progress. Even if individual progress were to be made, data linkage and other aspects that will appear later would be inconsistent, so at the bottom of the layers, I think that these aspects should be continued and prioritized.

On top of that, the next step will be something like a service layer. I believe that this will lead to the spread of My Number Card and the enhancement of digital administrative services that residents can obtain in a concrete manner. I think that it is truly wonderful that My Number Card has been made visible as shown here by the efforts of Digital Agency, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and others, and has gone to 87 million. It has become a identity verification system that goes beyond driver's licenses or an administrative passport, and it will be used as a foundation. So, in addition to My Number Card, including the deregulation of the use of the My Number system, we should be determined to promote Japanese digitalization based on this and create examples. Therefore, I think that this should also be a high priority. On top of that, I think that specific administrative services, including quick-win ones, should bloom mainly in Digital Agency or in cooperation with various administrations.

Among them, one area that I personally would like to pay attention to is the field of disaster prevention and mitigation. In a situation where the Great Kanto Earthquake or the Nankai Trough Earthquake could occur at any time, or where typhoons come every year, disaster prevention and mitigation is not a once-in-a-decade preparation, but a preparation for every year, and it is a situation where residents are most troubled. At this time, digital power is ideal for disaster prevention, and if it is very useful at the time of disaster mitigation even if a disaster occurs, I think the public and residents' understanding of the government's digitalization will advance. Therefore, I think it would be good to promote this area starting with the My Number system.

I think this is what we should prioritize and continue to do.

The last two points I would like to mention are about our data strategy. Yesterday, Mr. Hiramoto, Head of the Data Strategy Headquarters, came to an event held by the IT Federation and explained the outline of the data strategy. He is trying to do something concrete based on very solid ideas and concepts. Once this foundation is in place, I think it will lead to an EBPM-like administration as Mr. Mikitani said, so I think it should be promoted.

In addition, collaboration with the private sector and utilization of the private sector will be greatly facilitated if the data format is unified here. Therefore, while government cloud, government solution services, etc. are being unified, I think it would be good to focus on social implementation and gradually shift our focus to the development of data strategies, and at that time, I think it would be good to strengthen collaboration with the private sector. This is the first point.

The second point is, as I also stated in the prior discussion the other day, which is also reflected at the end of the material this time, the "X" in DX. I think it would be good to start on the premise that a considerable variety of foundations will be in place. When I talked with Vice Governor Miyasaka the other day, in his four years of experience in changing the city, I would say that the "D" in DX can be achieved by having a certain number of engineers and utilizing SaaS, but "X" is quite difficult. It is organizational reforms to change a huge organization to a digital-based work flow, or to change work based on the idea of adding value by improving efficiencies through digital, so in fact, this is more difficult, and X is more difficult than D.

Digital Agency is an agency on the premise of digital transformation, so it has been X-ized to some extent, but what is important is that each ministry and agency and local governments will be digitally transformed, so I think it would be better to start new work on this, such as serving as a control tower or sending specific people who can do this to support them. Even if "D" is created first, unless the organization is formed based on the idea of "X", it will be a waste of precious resources and will not be able to create added value, so I hope that work on this will be promoted in the next fiscal year.

That's all from me.

Chairman Murai: .

The slide "Toward the Revision of the Priority Plan Plan" that you are showing now, as Mr. Kawabe mentioned, I believe you have described important points for the formulation of the Priority Plan Plan in the future by viewing it in a broad framework from what has been discussed among us members so far. There is a relationship between "D" and "X", and I believe that the cost for local administration, which Governor Muraoka mentioned earlier, is also very much related to "X". I think what Mr. Natsuno mentioned earlier is related to an international perspective. This page expresses what has been discussed recently, so I thought it would be very good for you to start from here.

Well, Ikeda-san, please go ahead.

Member: . I am IKEDA, Mayor of Miyakonojo City.

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the steady advancement of the digital society in Digital Agency.

In addition, thank you very much for dealing with the example of efforts of this city on page 29 in this document.

In our city, My Number Card, we have been steadily advancing the issuance on our own from the beginning. Now, thanks to the major efforts of the national government, as of the end of January, 90.1% of applications have been made in our city, and the application base is 94.8%, and we are making further progress. The number of applications has exceeded 92, and the number of applications has reached 96 or 97. Our city has a population of 160,000 people, and I myself do not imagine that the number of 95 or 96 in 160,000 towns will reach this level. I would be angry if I called it a social experiment, but we are paying close attention to how far we will go from here.

Under such circumstances, the number of online application procedures using Mynaportal has reached about 280 in this city, which is one of the largest numbers among local governments nationwide, and we would like to further promote this in the sense of improving the convenience of My Number Card.

In addition, as stated in the material on page 29, we have been promoting the use of delivery at convenience stores from the beginning. Something that costs 300 yen at the counter can be purchased at a convenience store near you for half the price. We have been promoting it because there is no need for you to come all the way to the city hall. Before we started this, the usage rate of delivery at convenience stores was about 10% and 11%, but as shown here, it is now 53%, which has grown considerably. We will continue to firmly improve convenience as an administration and as a local government.

In addition, Digital Agency is cooperating with the Provisional Council for the Promotion of the Digital Economy and other organizations, and is implementing major reform of analog regulations across all ministries and agencies, and I am very grateful that Japan has made significant progress.

On the other hand, there are many local governments that have not yet been able to respond to the needs of the regulatory reform, so we would be very grateful if they could, for example, identify specific examples of good practices in Digital Agency and expand them horizontally.

Finally, regarding the standardization of local government systems, I have been appointed as the chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Japan Association of City Mayors, and from that position, I would like the standardization of local government systems to be promoted from the beginning. That is the view of the Japan Association of City Mayors. On the other hand, as I mentioned earlier, there is a wide gap in awareness, consciousness, and efforts among local governments. In particular, at the city level, I feel that small cities and towns and villages are far behind in terms of human resources. Of course, this system is a fundamental system that is directly linked to the lives of residents, so I hope that the situation and opinions of local governments will be taken up in the same way as before and more carefully than before, so that there will be no inconvenience in the lives of residents living in each local government.

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

Chairman Murai: .

Mayor Ikeda, in what you have just said, I think it is the city as a frontrunner, but as you just said, no one will be left behind. In other words, as Governor Muraoka said at the beginning, there are things that work well in local administration and difficult things. There is an ideal theory that a frontrunner like Ikeda-san's city should be horizontally deployed well, but I think how to do this concretely horizontally deployed is being discussed several times in Digita. I thought it would be important to incorporate that part of wisdom into this secretariat together with Muraoka-san and incorporate it into the draft of Priority Plan, so I would like to ask for your support.

Member: Thank you very much.

Chairman Murai: .

Then Kuniryo-san, please go ahead.

Member of Kokuryo: First of all, I would like to express my respect to all of you for advancing various initiatives over the past year.

On top of that, in the same page as Mr. Natsuno, page 17, I think the third principle, GtoBtoC model, is very important. In this one year, with the spread of My Number Card, we have made tremendous progress, and it is rare to find a country in the world that has so many hardware wallets. We need to make people feel the convenience of GtoC services using them. I have no objection at all to moving forward with My Number Card distribution, and I would like to express my respect, but in the end, B, which is in between, and perhaps the same thing can be said to local governments, and what the central government is doing and what local governments are doing by their own initiative, combined with the services provided by the Digital-Government Agency, will produce various things, which I think will be the key to advancing dynamic digital transformation.

In that sense, I understand that various work is currently being done on Mynaportal's APIs. In addition, it is important to talk about making APIs of various government systems easier to use for the private sector and local governments. Also, I feel that basic services, especially trust services, are important. I think that e-seals and timestamps are already on the agenda, but how will these be developed? I think that as these aspects become more active, digital transformation of the private sector, including invoices, will proceed in various ways. I would like to see these movements and G working together.

In addition, when it comes to improving the user interface of various services from the bottom up, while fully recognizing the importance of the top-down approach, the development of a service catalog for the government as a whole will become extremely important.

In considering this, the division of roles between G, B, and C, and the division of roles between the central government and local governments, will lead to vitality if each person works hard at their respective sites while deepening discussions on Architecture. However, this will give the system a unifying force that will not unravel. Diversity, efficiency, and commonality will surely go hand in hand, and I think it would be good not to forget that goal and work hard.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: Thank you very much.

Mr. Kokuryo specializes in GtoBtoC, and he also mentioned APIs. As Mr. Kawabe mentioned earlier, in the entire national data strategy, what to do with the system that includes local governments is a big theme. With base registry data and other things being developed, what to do in the future is how to create a society in which APIs and businesses can develop using data. I think this will be very important, so I would like to hear your opinions on the data strategy in this Priority Plan, especially in the current context.

Member of Kokuryo: Nice to meet you.

Chairman Murai: Thank you very much.

Noda-san, please go ahead.

Member: .

As you all said, I think you have accomplished a great deal over the past year. Thank you very much. I know you have gone through a lot, but thank you very much for your tireless efforts.

On top of that, when Priority Plan was created in the first place, I think the most important concepts were what kind of society we should aim for through digital technology, what the ideals and principles would be for that, what the specific basic strategies would be, and how they would be incorporated into measures. I think we proceeded by thinking about the structure in these layers.

There is no way that the society we are aiming for, which is positioned at the top of the list, can be realized in just one year. However, I think it is difficult to understand how far we are going in this explanation. After extensive discussions, we have decided to aim for six directions. Six directions that we should aim for, namely growth strategies by digitalization, medical and other digitalization in semi-public sector, digital revitalization of local communities, digital society where no one left behind, and human resource development, DFFT, how far we have made progress. Have we not made progress? If not, what are the factors behind the lack of progress? Who should do what to move forward? Of course, it is not possible to realize this by Digital Agency alone, so I have the impression that it is not clear whether it is other ministries, agencies, local governments, private companies, or the people at the national level. In today's briefing materials, there are a list of specific actions, and I think a lot of things are being done, but I think it would be good if you could sort out how close we are to the society we are aiming for a little more easily from the perspective of the people.

Regarding the next plan, the Chairman mentioned earlier whether there is a need to review it in light of the current changes in the international situation. When I read the explanatory materials again this time, I had the impression that I was a little weak in terms of how to lead digitalization to a carbon-neutral society. When the economic model is changing significantly from a linear economy to a circular economy, how to smoothly realize this transition based on digital technology is a little weak.

As you know, in Europe, the Green Deal and digital strategies are inextricably linked, and we are advancing them in an extremely strategic and integrated manner. We are advancing them based on the idea that digital will contribute to decarbonization and the development of a circular economy. A recent symbolic example is the Digital Product Passport. It digitally incorporates sustainability information into individual products. For example, it includes how much CO2 is emitted over the life cycle, what kind of raw materials were mined and where, and what raw materials were used and where the products were made. It is a way to digitally register and disclose this information about products. It may also lead to the exclusion of products that are not sustainable outside of Europe. I recognize that this move will probably have a major impact on Japan's business and industrial communities.

I think it would be good to incorporate the perspective that we should aim for such a carbon-neutral society and circular society in the future by making full use of digital technology into Priority Plan.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: .

Mr. Noda, this is also a very important perspective. I forgot to mention at the beginning of the Digital TV Agency, but I was going to say as usual that today's meeting does not need to be praised very much. In any case, I think I have made a lot of progress in the way I have been praised by everyone. However, when it comes to realizing each work, as you just pointed out, the question of where this society should head has been put on the back burner, and we have no choice but to do what we have to do right now. In a sense, I think this is very natural. It will also lead to the realization of the current sustainable society and whether we can obtain evidence for it, so we need to think about not forgetting that part. In addition, I think knowledge such as whether the world is discussing where it should aim from the new perspective you just mentioned is also important in this Priority Plan. I think it would be good if I could get help with that and move forward. Thank you very much.

Member: Thank you very much.

Chairman Murai: Thank you for waiting. Wakamiya-san, please.

Prof. Wakamiya: I am Masako Wakamiya . Nice to meet you.

Like everyone else, I looked at Mr. Digital Agency's handouts, and I felt that everything was included.

However, if I had to say something, from the perspective of the elderly, first of all, as I have heard that the digital debut course for smartphones is being held now and it has already progressed considerably, once you have a smartphone, next is My Number Card, but the smartphone and My Number Card will be integrated. If you have a smartphone, the My Number Card function will be included there. From the perspective of the elderly, I think that would be fine. I would like to ask you to do it with one instead of two.

Another point is that, of course, just by taking the digital debut course, you will not be able to understand it all at once. The promotion committee members will help you in various ways, but that is not the case, and I believe that it will be necessary to raise the level of the entire people in the future. There are many people who can hold smartphones and chat with their families on LINE, so in order to bring us closer to e-government, we need to raise the level of the entire people.

When I went to Denmark in June last year, I asked about 1,500 people to fill out a questionnaire. At that time, I heard that there was a course for the whole country to study how to acquire this kind of literacy. They said they had studied it. Therefore, I would like you to consider something like a video teaching material that is easy to understand and that would encourage everyone to know at least this much to associate with e-government.

Another issue before smartphones is that we will face a serious low birth rate, aging population, and labor shortage, so we must continue to support the self-reliance of older people before smartphones. This is the digitalization of self-reliance support. I am not sure if we will offer the benefits of digitalization to people before smartphones, such as AI speaker, but I believe that the most serious issue in Japan is the low birth rate and aging population, so I would like to see particular efforts made to respond to this.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: .

I believe that this is a very important perspective, and I believe that you pointed out issues that need to be addressed, including the revision of many technological and social systems.

Then, Mr. Ito, please go ahead.

Itou: I have been working on Web3 for a long time, but that section was very good and it was a very fruitful study session. Thank you very much.

It is very important for the Agency for Digital to be the Architecture as the control tower, and I think there is one Architecture that divides each section and digs deeper into each section, but technically speaking, there are blockchains on top of the Internet, and there is something like a AI on top of blockchains, and there are layers. Therefore, Web3.0 and public blockchains are necessary for every vertical application, and if privacy-enhancing technologies using cryptography and zero knowledge proof in public blockchains and privacy-enhancing technologies in the AI layer and identity layer are well connected and the Architecture is well done, then it will be enabled for various applications such as DFFT, but the coordination of each layer is very important, and if it is left as a chunk vertically, it will not be possible. There are people in the Agency for Digital who are good at Architecture, so I think it is necessary to have proper orchestrations and do what each layer does, and sort out what to do in DID and what to do in the Trusted Web.

The current Japanese digital transformation is not going well because vendors are all mixed up vertically and Architecture is in tatters. We need to change bad Architecture to good Architecture little by little, but we need a view that includes long-term technologies and policies, and maybe a picture of Architecture in a report like this, or for example, although Web3.0 is written only in the Web3.0 section, each section has Web3.0, each section has privacy protection technology, and each section has how My Number Card connects, so it may be difficult to write a report. Maybe in the summary section, a system diagram of which parts are related in what way, policies, and how various regulatory agencies must coordinate. It may not be necessary to write it in a report, but if we do not share this, I think it is an important role of the Digital agency to sort out where everyone is in the total map and where they are connected.

Chairman Murai: .

Similar to Mr. Noda's discussion earlier, there is a discussion that when Digital Agency starts, the control tower, in other words, what kind of department in Kasumigaseki will promote the digital society, what kind of structure it will have, including the roles of the public and private sectors, and what kind of structure it will have, I think this is Architecture, and as the control tower, we must proceed based on Architecture. I think that is related to what kind of society Mr. Noda wants to create, which is technically Architecture.

I fully agree that Digital Agency, as the control tower of the digital society, must draw a picture of what roles each ministry and agency, local governments, and the private sector will play. I am aware that the document of the Digital Architecture Agency uses the term "Ito" relatively well, but I think it is important to raise awareness in creating the next version in the sense that you just mentioned, and to incorporate such experiences, knowledge, and new perspectives into this Priority Plan.

Now, I have listened to the opinions of those who have raised their hands. I have received very valuable opinions from all of you, and I think we will enter the process of having Priority Plan make preparations, including this. I would also like to continue to listen to your opinions. I would like to ask you what you have left to say and what you would like to say. What do you think?

Kawabe-san, please come in.

K. Kawabe: , broadly speaking, there are two things. The first is, as Mr. Noda said, the vision, the ideal society, and as Mr. Joi Ito said, the Architecture as a whole. On top of that, as Mr. Kuniryo said, GtoBtoC with APIs in place, especially the importance of B, should be deepened in the sense of next year's Priority Plan.

In Mr. Mikitani's document, there is something like mandatory APIs for all. That is a very important and well-known story. In the Amazon internal system, when various departments use each other's services, they went directly to the database. Then, Jeff Bezos got angry and told them to make it available through APIs for various departments. After the principles were thoroughly implemented, it led to Amazon Web Services. In the government cloud, in the first place, if we are going to do a government cloud, all the databases and administrative systems are made into APIs based on some rules, and it is natural that local governments can use it, and it can also be used by private servicers, or in the context of the Kishida Cabinet, it can also be used by startups, then the expansion of Amazon Web Services will be brought about by the government cloud, and the utilization of digitalization and the private sector will progress all at once, so in Mr. Mikitani's document, I think it would be better to make it a rule from the beginning in the assumption that various systems will be built. This is one piece.

One more thing, as the members of each local government said, there is a considerable difference between the local governments that promote it and the difficult local governments. Normally, backward local governments should utilize the government cloud and use package APIs to advance their digitalization. The more backward local governments are, the more they should rely on it in a good sense. Therefore, I wonder if they are properly following up on backward local governments.

Rather, I think that it would be more difficult to achieve the final goal if the leading local governments are not too close to the Government Cloud and are moving forward with their own things, but I think it should be confirmed whether this is the case. The smaller and weaker the local government, the more likely it is to use the Government Cloud. In order to do so, the principles of APIs are very important, and I felt that it is very important to create a world view in which the digitalization of local governments can be easily done by private servicers or vendors by promoting the use of APIs even at local vendors.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: .

I think we need to think about the continuity of APIs, business, and the Architecture itself, which is useful for connecting the stories we received from the first governors and mayors, and connecting well to the government cloud. Thank you very much.

It's about time, so I'd like to ask you the points so far. First, may I speak to Mr. Asanuma in Vice-Minister for Digital Transformation, Chief Officer of Digital Agency?

Mr. Asanuma, Vice-Minister for Digital Transformation, Chief Officer of Digital Agency: Ladies and gentlemen of , thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend this meeting.

I am very grateful for your opinions from multiple perspectives while reviewing Digital Agency's work, outputs, and so on.

At the beginning of my speech today, I mentioned that as part of our policies to rebuild Priority Plan from three perspectives, we will reorganize the "X" in the digital transformation, shift from a supply-and-demand perspective to a supply-side perspective, and move forward with a new international perspective. This time, I would like to hear your opinions, and I believe that three broader perspectives will be necessary to move Priority Plan forward.

First of all, in terms of quick wins, we have achieved results in areas that are easy for Digital Agency to start with and that are easy to deliver to the people of Japan. However, in terms of the next phase, I feel that one important point is whether Digital Agency will be able to function as a control tower in a sense by standardizing the work of local governments, expanding GtoBtoC services with the business operators that I mentioned today, and further linking services in the future.

I also feel that it is one of our major roles to present the outcomes and the current situation. There are still parts that have not been organized within Digital Agency, so going forward, we would like to present not only the outcomes, but also the goals and where we are, including from a global perspective.

Lastly, what I believe will be important is to incorporate new perspectives in a timely manner in the fast-moving field of digital.

I wanted to thoroughly consider the three points I have just explained.

That's all. Thank you.

Chairman Murai: Thank you very much.

Mr. Ozaki, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, can I have your opinion?

Secretariat: Thank you, has left the room. I think Deputy Minister Okushi is next.

Chairman Murai: , I'm sorry.

Now, State Minister Okushi, please.

State Minister for Digital Transformation, Okushi: Thank you very much for a very lively discussion today. I would like to thank you again.

While there were various opinions, our original mission is "No one will be left behind," so I think it would be good if we could see that we can firmly expand horizontally based on understanding the various differences in the region.

I believe that it is necessary to make the realization of "X," which is premised on reforms centered on Gabakura, more tangible and visible. I also believe that it is necessary to make it more visible what efforts, including costs, are necessary to continue in that process, and what can be done and what will be done in the future.

Thank you very much for your kind words of praise for the spread of My Number Card. We have managed to come this far with the cooperation of everyone, so we will proceed with the revision of the plan while thinking about how to activate the B part, including easy-to-use APIs at the entrance, and through that, what kind of society we will advance, and what our future will look like. This is also a very good opportunity to convey what kind of world Japan is aiming for by digitalization, so I will work hard on this.

Thank you very much for your time today. I look forward to working with you in the future.

Chairman Murai: Thank you very much.

Then, have you heard from the office?

Secretariat: Thank you, .

I would like to ask about the disclosure of the materials. The materials for today's meeting are already available on the Digital Agency website. In addition, although it has been decided that the minutes of this meeting, not the summary of the proceedings, will be disclosed, I would like to disclose the minutes on the same website in the near future after having it confirmed by the members.

As for the next date, I will coordinate with everyone and get back to you, thank you.

That's all.

Chairman Murai: .

As I have been saying for a long time, as Mr. Mr. Asanuma, Vice-Minister for Digital Transformation, Chief Officer of Digital Agency mentioned earlier, the outline of the Priority Plan has been prepared based on the discussions at the Concept Meeting. I believe there will be various matters that need to be asked as we move forward. I would like to conclude today's Concept Meeting by inviting you to participate in the discussions. The Priority Plan will be drawn up from here on out, so I would like to ask for your continued support.

Thank you very much for today.