er rates of senior high school enrollment. However, there are also countries with high Internet utilization rates despite a low rate of senior high school enrollment.

## (C) Applications that encourage ICT utilization: Social Network

Let us examine the digital divide in terms of social media, a type of ICT application which is skyrocketing in popularity worldwide. Looking at the correlation between Internet utilization rate and rate of participation in social networks $ ^{26} $ , we see that even among non-high-income nations with low Internet utilization rates, there are some nations where the rate of participation in social networks has risen dramatically (Figure 2-2-2-9). It is evident that this is driven by the prevalence of Internet cafes and mobile phones in these countries. Considering the fact that social networks can be accessed using mobile phones as well, there is possibility for developing countries to close the ICT utilization gap with developed countries through such applications and services accessible via mobile phone, as mobile phones are rapidly becoming commonplace in the developing world.

### C. Promotion of ICT policies

Countries with proactive ICT policies have set targets and established ICT strategies suited to their particular national circumstances. Looking at the top five countries for each income group as ranked by a World Economic Forum report on “policy prioritization of ICT” $ ^{27} $ , we see that the top-ranked countries in each income group are Singapore, Malaysia, Tunisia and Vietnam respectively.

Figure 2-2-9 Internet utilization rate and rate of participation in social networks

(Source) Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications "Survey on Elimination of the International Digital Divide" (2011)

These countries have widely varying ICT policy methods and aims. It is clear that elimination of the international digital divide should be driven by policy approaches tailored to the circumstances of each country.

## (4) Toward bridging of the international digital divide

It is vital to eliminate the digital divide in order to bestow the benefits of ICT on all people equally and build the ICT society of the future. Bridging the digital divide is expected to alleviate information-related inequality, bolster economic productivity, foster mutual cultural understanding, and enable the creation of a more prosperous international society.

However, each country and region takes a different route to development of ICT infrastructure and bridging of the digital divide, with a broad spectrum of approaches to private-sector investment and public involvement. Developing and developed countries should learn from one another's best practices and promote measures suited to their own national and regional circumstances so as to maximize effectiveness. Based on these observations, we conclude that Japan should work to build a more sophisticated ICT infrastructure, as well as reexamining the fundamental nature of Japan's international contributions while paying close attention to the specific ICT needs and challenges of each country.

## Section 3

### Local Revitalization through ICT 1. Local ICT Utilization

Today’s regions, which face numerous challenges including a low birth rate, an aging society, decreasing population, and diminished employment opportunities, call for the maximizing of ICT’s potential to address these challenges. In addition, ICT offers regional residents opportunities for interaction and partnership with a wide variety of people and organizations, and serves as an effective means of revitalizing interpersonal ties. Expectations are high for ICT to revitalize regions by helping to overcome challenges, fostering closer ties, creating new business and generating new value.

For this white paper, we built on the survey findings of last year's white paper to conduct wide-ranging surveys of local ICT utilization and conducted an analysis of the challenges facing utilization and the steps that must be taken to revitalize through ICT. We also analyzed the promotion of ICT utilization not only by local govern-