# Utilizing ICT to Solve Social Challenges

# Section 1 Electronic Administration and Open Data

### 1. Promoting electronic administration

## (1) Strategic initiatives for enhancing electronic administration

We have proceeded with various initiatives for electronic administration and made certain achievements. Nevertheless, some problems have been cited, including the computerization of administration not being fully felt by citizens. In order to solve these problems, we will have to further improve the convenience of administrative services and thoroughly cut costs.

Based on the circumstances, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) has provided the Strategic Headquarters for the Promotion of an Advanced Information and Telecommunications Network Society with a proposal for measures to realize three visions – “more convenient and less expensive administrative services for users,” “thorough cost cuts and efficient administrative operations” and “administrative infrastructure invulnerable to disasters and security problems” – under a mission to “create a convenient life.” The proposal has been reflected in the “Declaration towards Creating a World-leading IT Nation: the Second Abe Cabinet’s New IT Strategy” (hereinafter referred to as the New Strategy). The proposal and New Strategy call for promoting the following initiatives.

### a. Providing highly convenient electronic administrative services

Future challenges for the online use of administrative procedures may include increasing the efficiency of administrative management by figuring out citizens' needs, improving convenience and promoting online procedures.

The MIC proposal seeks to promote an administrative service reform to review services from the viewpoint of users and reduce time, labor and costs as burdens on the people. In response, the New Strategy urges the government to “develop a guideline for improving the convenience of online procedures in consideration of past best practices within FY2013” and “systematically implement business process re-engineering (BPR) to provide one-stop services favored by users, services that can be customized through mobile devices and other highly convenient online services and realize efficient administrative management.”

### b. Administrative information system reform covering central and local governments

On information system reform, the MIC proposal, from the viewpoint of promoting even more efficient administrative management, offers plans to integrate information systems of government agencies, to accelerate government information systems' shift to cloud computing and to build resilient system infrastructure invulnerable to disasters and cyber attacks.

The New Strategy calls on the government “to nearly halve the number of information systems (about 1,500 in FY2012) by FY2018, to introduce cloud computing for all government information systems other than those subject to special considerations such as large-scale renovation based on business reforms in principle by FY 2021, to distribute information centers, to build administrative infrastructure invulnerable to disasters and information security problems and to reduce system operation costs (by 30%).”

Local governments are urged to “position the next four years before the introduction of the personal identification number system as a period for intensifying cloud computing initiatives at local governments and accelerate the initiatives while implementing communalization and standardization in line with the introduction.”

The social security and tax number system (hereinafter referred to as the number system) will be used for identifying personal data at multiple organizations. It will become a social infrastructure for enhancing the efficiency and transparency of the social security and tax systems and realizing an equal and fair society. Under the act for the use of a number for personal identification in administrative procedures that was enacted during an ordinary session of the Diet in 2013, the use of personal numbers will be launched in 2016.

In administrative areas introducing the number system, relevant government agencies will cooperate to work out and steadily implement plans to re-engineer administrative services and business practices and reform information systems under the instruction of the government's chief information officer. The government will also provide personal services using personal portal sites to be developed in the future, one-stop and push-type services meeting users' personal needs, and other highly convenient online services through various channels including personal computers and mobile terminals.

### c. Enhancing government ICT governance

Common challenges that have been cited for promoting various electronic administration measures include