[Message] From the Perspective of Users Promoting Digital Agency, Told by Director-General
Bringing together the knowledge of the public and private sectors to advance administrative DX
Mayor of Group of Strategy and Organization, Digital Agency, TOMIYASU Taiichiro (Affiliations and job titles are as of April 1, 2025. The same applies hereinafter.)
Digital Agency was established under the cooperation of the ministries at a time when people were calling for the delay of digital transformation in Japan during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Mission, Vision and Values has been raised as an organization, and all of our employees, regardless of whether they are from the public or private sector, are working hard to make it happen. Because it is a new organization, unlike other ministries and agencies, there are few precedents where they can stand on their own, and each of them has their own initiative to demonstrate their abilities, and the current Digital Agency has been established. In order to aim for a Digital Agency that is useful to each ministry, agency, and local government, Group of Strategy and Organization supports the activities of the employees in the agency and promotes organizational management and culture formation so that it will be useful to each group in the agency. Let's continue to work together in the spirit of "Government as a Service," which is Digital Agency's vision.
The important thing is to think through the system that is really necessary.
Mayor of Group of Common Functions for Digital Society, Digital Agency, KUSUNOKI Masanori
When considering infrastructure systems for administrative services, it is necessary to consider all users from the planning and examination stage and optimize the system as a whole. It is of course necessary to consider the improvement of benefits for residents, who are the end users, but it is also necessary to create a system that is conscious of not increasing the burden on stakeholders such as government officials. If we unilaterally impose infrastructure systems for the sake of good without deeply understanding the circumstances of each local government, it may increase costs and the labor of staff. In order to provide truly valuable services, it is important to think from the perspective of users. Let's reflect on whether the system and services meet the needs of users and reconsider their necessity.
"Easy-to-understand" is the key to a government that reaches everyone
Mayor of Group of Service for Citizens, Digital Agency, MURAKAMI Keisuke
Services using My Number Card are expanding into various fields. Online applications for tax returns, child-rearing, nursing care, and moving procedures. Use as Various Certificates issuance, insurance cards, and licenses. Recently, it has also been used for online contracts for banks and mobile phones, and identity verification on matching apps. We must deliver these services to each person, regardless of their digital strengths or weaknesses, while unraveling the respective systems and mechanisms in an easy-to-understand manner. In doing so, if the government sticks to its accuracy, it will be difficult to understand, and if it is too easy, there will be times when we fail to convey it. It is really difficult to create services from the user's point of view, but let's do our best.
There are hints of service improvement in the field.
Mayor of Group of Service for Ministries Administration, Digital Agency, FUSEDA Hideo
The most important task for the services for the employees of each ministry and agency is to keep the system running without stopping. The second most important task is "ease of use," which affects the workload of the employees who are the users. To this end, Group of Service for Ministries Administration is proceeding with an awareness of creating services based on the frontline. To be specific, in order to get a good grasp of the situation of the users, we are constantly exchanging opinions with the users while touring the sites of each ministry and agency and having them touch the prototypes. In addition, after the service has been put into operation, the status of use is monitored and used to make quick improvements. In the future, we will continue to tenaciously identify the needs of the users from the frontline, leading to continuous service improvement with a sense of speed.