Digital Agency Action Plan for the Advancement of Female Employees and the Promotion of Work-Life Balance

Last Updated:: Mar 18, 2025

Basic Concept

As a control tower for the formation of a digital society, Digital Agency is an organization that brings together a diverse range of officials, including government ministries and agencies, local governments, and people with experience in the private sector, in order to boldly promote future-oriented digital transformation (DX) and create public and private infrastructure in the digital age in one fell swoop. Therefore, each person's background, such as working style, may differ, and it is extremely important to make efforts to promote a well-regulated work-life balance.
So far, we have conducted organization survey and started organizational reforms to improve engagements.
The human resources infrastructure, for example, includes the organization of job scales, the introduction of one-on-one meeting, and the visualization of staff skills. A communications policy has also been developed to improve communication processes between senior officials and staff and among staff.
In line with the "Action Guidelines for the Advancement of Women and the Promotion of Work-Life Balance in national government officer" (decided by the Council for the Advancement of Women Employees and the Promotion of Work-Life Balance on October 17, 2014 and partially revised on January 29, 2014), Digital Agency will continue to work on the improvement of work efficiency and digitalisation, and management reform, including the appropriate management of working hours and the optimization of work sharing during telework, as the main axis of work style reform, in order to create a better workplace. 2021 2021
This plan shall be positioned as an action plan for specified business operators based on Article 19 of the Act on Promotion of Women's Participation and Advancement in the Workplace (Act No. 64 of 2015) and Article 19 of the Act on Promotion of Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation (Act No. 120 of 2003). The plan period shall be from October 1, 2022 (2022) to March 31, 2026 (2026).

Work-style reform to promote work-life balance

Digital Agency aims to be a "soft organization that is not bound by conventional frameworks" and promotes efficient, free, and work-learning ways of working.
In addition, each and every employee will act with an awareness of "continuously evaluating our actions in pursuing our goals," which is also one of the values of Digital Agency: "I will positively doubt the assumptions and customs, aim to be a country that can be proud of in the world, and actively adopt new methods and concepts. I will have the courage to decide to" quit "and work productively with continuously evaluating our actions in pursuing our goals."

1. Efficient working style (business efficiency improvement, promotion of digitalisation, etc.)

(1) Ways of working with freedom (promotion of telework, etc.) [Priority items]

In Digital Agency, all employees are able to telework in a flexible manner. In addition, the Government will work to implement telework more effectively, while actively incorporating measures such as the introduction of chat tools to solve problems such as communication unique to telework.
In addition, the Government will promote flexible and free working styles by introducing a flexible workspace and regularly holding all-hands meetings in which all government officials, executives and employees participate.
In addition, the GOJ will realize efficient and open communication through asynchronous information sharing and open information sharing by utilizing chat tools and the joint editing function of documents. At the same time, the GOJ will improve the efficiency of operations by holding meetings mainly remotely with political officials and senior officials.

(2) Reviewing and streamlining operations, including the abolition of operations

In order to create a system in which the activities and initiatives of all employees will surely lead to "desired results," the "three pillars" that will be the focus areas will be defined, and work will be promoted systematically and efficiently. At the same time, the development of the corporate planning function in cooperation with the government DX will be promoted, and work will be reviewed and streamlined. In addition, in order to share targets and indicators within the agency and among related parties, visualization will be promoted from major items to dashboards.

(3) Streamlining of Parliament-related work

(1) Streamlining responses to the Diet through effective use of telework, etc.
In Digital Agency, the following measures will be continued.

In charge of the Digital Agency National Assembly, the introduction of teleworking and early - and late-shift work will reduce the burden on staff.
With the exception of cases where physical attendance is essential, teleworking will be made possible for Diet affairs, such as the preparation of answers. After regular working hours, based on the situation in the Diet on the following day, efforts will be made to minimize the number of staff members who need to be on standby in order to respond to the Diet, while limiting standby to cases where it is truly necessary.
We will continue to improve the operation based on the opinions of users and streamline the Diet response throughout the Agency.

(ii) Streamlining the process of preparing answers in the Diet
In Digital Agency, all processes such as coordination of the team in charge in the Agency and confirmation of the prepared answer draft are performed on groupware without using e-mail.

Sharing of progress among the parties involved in the reply preparation process, including the reply writer (including the team in charge as well as the main team in charge), the person in charge of the Diet, and the person who confirmed the prepared reply
Simultaneous editing of files relating to draft written answers
The purpose of the present invention is to make it possible to determine the direction of an answer at an early stage by having a person who confirms an answer participate in the preparation process from the stage of starting to prepare an answer proposal, and to reduce the time required for preparing an answer.

(4) Ways of working learned at work

The NPA will develop an environment in which people from the private sector and those from the public administration can carry out the same missions and acquire knowledge outside their respective fields of expertise through their work. The NPA will also develop an environment in which people from the private sector and those from the public administration can learn while working by holding study meetings to share knowledge across the entire NPA beyond their teams.

2. Systemization and thorough management of working hours

(1) Systemization of working hours management

With regard to the management of daily work performance of employees, the "Attendance Management Application" created by the Cabinet Secretariat Office of Information and Communications Technology (IT) Strategic Planning in FY 2019 was inherited and is currently used for attendance management in Digital Agency. In the future, the Attendance Management Application will be a simple and general-purpose application utilizing a low-code platform, and its functions will be improved based on the government's guidelines for the systemization of working time management, and efforts will be made to grasp the working time of employees in an objective manner. At the same time, managers will make efforts to properly grasp the working time of their subordinates and the status and reasons for overtime work.

(2) Reduction of overtime work through appropriate management of working hours and securing intervals between working hours, etc.

(1) Reduction of overtime work
Implement the following measures to reduce overtime work

Establishment of no-overtime day Business Day
Thorough reporting of overtime work in advance
Thorough monitoring and management of overtime hours by managers and supervisors
Summary analysis of factors related to overtime work exceeding the upper limit
Messages from Executives
Promotion of taking monthly and annual leave to the extent possible
Restrictions on meetings held outside working hours and time restrictions

② Ensuring work intervals
In order to make working hours more flexible in light of the nature and circumstances of each employee's work, a flextime system and an early / late attendance system will be introduced, and flexible working styles will continue to be promoted.

(3) Appropriate operation of the system concerning the upper limit of overtime work, etc.

Based on the national government officer's measures concerning the upper limit on overtime work, etc., the NPA will appropriately operate the systems, steadily organize, analyze, and verify cases where overtime work exceeding the upper limit is ordered, and make necessary improvements.

(4) Assignment of Personnel

With the goal of "linking strategies and resource management," resource management will be carried out in conjunction with the overall strategies of the Digital Agency, which clarify the main goals and focus areas, while managing the necessary personnel in the field and making the necessary organization, capacity, and budget requests.
In addition to promoting the hiring of new graduates, including those in the digital category, and the hiring of full-time employees in the hiring of experienced personnel, the Government will continue to actively hire part-time employees in the form of private-sector administrative personnel (including public-private exchange) and private sector specialists as immediate assets. In hiring private sector personnel, the Government will establish a job type recruitment method and build an organizational system and resource management system that can flexibly allocate personnel according to changes in project priorities and fully demonstrate the performance of each individual.

3. Management Reform

In a workplace where there are many employees from different backgrounds, appropriate management by superiors is essential.
Efforts will be made to improve the management skills of managers, including enhancing the motivation of employees and promoting their growth, to strengthen the role of executives in management, and to strengthen support from personnel authorities. In order to steadily implement these measures, a mechanism will be established to understand the situation of management, employees, and workplaces of executives and managers and to make improvements.

(1) Improving the management of managerial positions, etc., taking into account the enhancement of employee satisfaction [Priority items]

① Management actions to be taken by managers, etc.
Managers shall appropriately understand the operational status of their subordinates, including their working hours, etc., and shall engage in organizational management with a cost awareness, such as appropriate and flexible division of duties and prioritization of duties.
In addition, the NPA conducts one-on-one meeting on a regular basis, actively communicates with subordinate staff members, and provides appropriate follow-ups so that subordinate staff members can improve their performance of public duties by feeling motivated and working actively in their daily duties and growing.
It is important for employees not only in managerial positions but also in Deputy Director and Chief to work on the management of their subordinates. For this reason, they will work on the management practices required in their respective positions, such as guidance and training of subordinates, in their daily work.

② Improvement of management ability of managers
All managers who arrive in Digital Agency will receive training to improve their management skills. The implementation of management by each executive and manager will be observed from multiple perspectives to provide follow-up and feedback, and to encourage management improvement.
In addition, the Company will strive to ensure that senior managers understand and appropriately evaluate the management status of their subordinates in managerial positions, and actively provide advice and guidance by utilizing the results of personnel evaluation interviews and multifaceted observations.

(2) Role of Personnel Authorities in Human Resource Development

(1) Human resource development and career development through personnel changes

By introducing personnel SaaS, personnel information and organizational structure will be visualized to promote the placement of the right person in the right position.
Conduct regular one-on-one meeting with superiors and encourage personal growth through appropriate feedback and dialogue on assignments.

② Providing opportunities for self-growth

In order to help employees acquire skills as advanced IT human resources, the GOJ will establish a system for taking courses to pass national examinations such as the "Basic Information Engineer Examination (FE)" and the "Applied Information Specialist Examination (AP)." The GOJ will also support employees' independent career development by showing them career paths suitable for each employee.

(3) Fostering an organizational culture

In order to build an organizational culture that enables all employees to work as one to achieve their goals in the presence of diverse human resources, we will establish and share a common goal of mission vision and clarify action guidelines as employees as a value.
Also, in order to create a good organization, it is essential to accurately reflect the opinions of all employees, so we aim to become a model organization in the digital society by regularly conducting organization survey (employee satisfaction surveys) and turning the cycle of data-driven concrete improvement actions.
In addition, all-hands meetings will be held on a regular basis as a venue for two way communication with top management for across the position and all staff.
Then, a communication policy is formulated to eliminate the gap between individual employees, such as the way of working and communication, and the team works together organically and aims to create a workplace where communication can always be maintained to improve performance.

4. Support for balancing work and life

(1) Promotion of male employees' participation in childcare

Based on the "Policies for Promoting Male Employees in national government officer to Take Child-care Leave and Leave Associated with Child Care" (decided by the Council for the Promotion of Active Roles and Work-Life Balance of Female Employees on December 27, 2019 (2019)), all eligible male employees will aim to take child-care leave and leave associated with child care for at least one month.
In addition, the Government will promote the utilization of the work-life balance support system for male employees and managers by male employees, and aim to achieve the following goals for childcare leave for male employees based on the goals set forth in the "Future Strategy for Children" formulated on December 22, 2023 (2023).

By 2025 (2025), 85% of employees had taken at least one week of leave
By 2030 (2030), the take-up rate of two weeks or more was 85%
With regard to spousal childbirth leave (two days) and special leave for child care participation (five days) for male employees, all applicable employees shall take a total of at least five days of leave.

(2) Creating an environment where people can work while balancing work and life

(1) Flexible working hours
In order to realize work-life balance and ensure mental and physical health of employees, a flexible working style utilizing a flextime system and early / late shift will be promoted.

② Securing substitute personnel
In the event that an Employee takes child care leave, etc., the continuity of work shall be ensured by reviewing work, assigning substitute Employees, or transferring personnel in consideration of individual circumstances.

(iii) Promotion of taking leave
In order to improve the environment, the Government will encourage employees to take a large amount of leave at the time when they can take summer leave and at key points such as the year-end and New Year holidays.
In addition, employees shall endeavor to take at least one day of annual leave per month (one year off per month) to the extent possible, and managerial employees shall take care so that employees can take one year off per month in principle. Flexible measures shall be implemented, such as allowing employees to carry over to the following month or take leave in installments at their request, depending on their work and family situations, etc.

(3) Use of the work-life balance support system and support during and after taking child care leave

Create a work environment where it is easy to use the work-life balance support system, such as childcare leave and nursing care leave.

Reform to promote active participation of female employees

The Digital Agency is an organization established in September 2021. Its current staff consists of seconded staff (full-time staff) and part-time staff from the Cabinet Office and each Ministry, etc. Therefore, due to the special circumstances that the promotion to each post is greatly affected by the promotion status of the organization to which women are seconded, it is difficult for the Digital Agency to set promotion targets for women and to work systematically. However, the Ministry will work to expand the recruitment and promotion of women in consultation and cooperation with the Cabinet Office and each Ministry, etc. to which women are seconded.
Recruitment of new graduates and hiring of experienced personnel have been promoted since FY 2021. In light of the government-wide targets set out in the Basic Plan, the percentage of women among those selected for the national government officer Recruitment Examination for Comprehensive Service and the General Service Examination shall be 35% or more, and the percentage of women among those selected for the national government officer Recruitment Examination for Technical Service shall be 30% or more.
Furthermore, in light of the Government-wide targets set out in the Basic Plan, the ratio of female employees in Director and Director for Policy Planning as of the end of FY 2025 will be set at 10%, the ratio in Deputy Director at 17%, and the ratio in Chief at 30%, and efforts will be made to increase the number of female employees in consultation and cooperation with the Cabinet Office and each Ministry to which they are seconded.

1. Expansion of employment of women

(1) Promotion of effective public relations activities

In order to recruit a wide range of talented women with the abilities expected of them in the public service, the GOJ will continue to hold briefing sessions for students, etc. in cooperation with relevant organizations such as Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs and National Personnel Authority.

(2) Mid-career recruitment of female employees

We will make active use of hiring of experienced personnel examinations and strive to recruit motivated and capable employees.

2. Systematic Development of Female Employees to Achieve Promotion Targets

(1) Systematic development of female employees through the expansion of their job categories and the flexibility of personnel management

The Government will actively recruit women based on the Government-wide targets set in the Basic Plan. At the same time, the Government will promote the systematic development of Digital Agency Proper personnel by providing them with opportunities to learn in a timely and appropriate manner and opportunities to be transferred to other organizations.
In addition, even in the case of leaving the workplace for a long period of time due to childcare, support to make it easier to catch up when returning to work will be provided while listening to the opinions of staff members.

(2) Support for career development of female employees

Through the introduction of examples of career paths taken by female employees who serve as role models, the motivation of young female employees will be improved.
In addition, even if the timing of promotion is lost due to child rearing, necessary support such as provision of various job opportunities and training will be actively provided to female employees who have excellent potential abilities, and the speed of promotion will be accelerated by increasing their motivation and skills.

(3) Creating a system that allows female employees to consult about their concerns and concerns

In order to ensure opportunities for appropriate consultations for female employees who are struggling to balance work and family and their future careers, in addition to enhancing one-on-one meeting, the Government will establish a consultation desk with female employees as counselors and develop a system where women can feel free to consult.

*The numerical targets in this plan are based on the number of full-time employees.