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Digital Extraordinary Administrative Advisory Committee Working Group (5th)

Overview

  • Date and time: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 (2022) from 10:00 to 12:00
  • Location: Online
  • Agenda:
    1. Opening
    2. Proceedings
      1. Hearing from related ministries and agencies about written notice regulation, In-person Courses regulation, and regulation for on-site inspection and public inspection
      2. Exchange of opinions
    3. Adjournment

Materials

Related Information

Minutes, etc.

Date

Tuesday, March 15, 2022 (2022), from 10:00 to 12:00

Location

Online Meetings

Attendees

Chairman

  • Fumiaki Kobayashi, Senior Vice-

Members

  • Junji Annen (Attorney-at-law, Professor of the Graduate School of Law
  • Tatsuhiko Inadani (Professor, Graduate School of Law, Kyoto University)
  • Katsuya Uenoyama (President of PKSHA Technology, Inc.)
  • Takafumi Ochiai (Attorney at law, Atsumi & Sakai, Foreign Law Joint Enterprise)
  • Akiko Sugawara (Managing Director and Head of Policy Planning, Keizai Doyukai)
  • Katsunori Nemoto (Senior Managing Director, Japan Business Federation)
  • Masakazu Masushima (Attorney-at-Law, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto)

Minutes

Secretariat (Matsuda): Thank you very much, Mr. The fifth meeting of the "Digital Extraordinary Administrative Advisory Committee Working Group" will be held from now on. Nice to meet you.

Again, members are invited to participate online.
In addition, Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kobayashi will temporarily leave his seat in the middle of the meeting in order to respond to the Diet. In addition, Mr. Sugawara and Mr. Nemoto are scheduled to leave their seats in the middle of the meeting due to business.

First of all, I would like to ask Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kobayashi, who is the chair of this working group, to give us a few words of greeting before the opening of the working group. Thank you very much.

Senior Vice-Minister for Digital .
Today, in order to review the regulation regime in a cross-sectional manner, I would like to listen to what kind of Issue and issues there are from the ministries and agencies in charge, and then think together with the ministries and agencies in charge and members about how to overcome that Issue, and use our wisdom.

Today is the fifth session of the Working Group. The content will cover regulation, written notice, regulation, In-person Courses, and regulation for Visiting Inspection and Public Inspection. We will hear from the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Japan Tourism Agency, the Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. To be specific, we will cover topics that are fairly familiar to people's lives, such as lectures on safe driving managers and the posting of terms and conditions set up in hotels.

With regard to the perspective of these revisions, I would like to look at whether they conform to the Five Digital Principles. Even if it becomes clear that Principles 1 can be overcome in digital completion, I believe that if they are divided by local government, they do not conform to Principles 4. I believe that there will be such a pattern, so I would like you to take a broad look at it and consider it from diverse perspectives.

When that topic comes up, system responses will also come up, and cooperation with local government will also be necessary, so I think the merit of this meeting is that we can discuss how to approach this comprehensively with the ministries and agencies in charge and members, so I would like to ask you to dig deeper.
At the same time, first of all, thank you very much to the people of the National Police Agency for your very positive consideration. As I said earlier, this is very close to us and is related to a fairly wide range of business operators, so I think that if this is streamlined, it will be very appreciated. I also think that public office will be able to efficiency the administrative processing, so I would like to proceed together.

In addition to that, I believe there are still various analog principles and rules related to the National Police Agency, but the Kishida Administration would like to take this opportunity to identify all of them, reduce the burden on everyone as much as possible in the form of a lump-sum law, and change the rules to suit this era. Therefore, I would like you to talk about what kind of Issue will actually be there today on a sincere basis and give us your wisdom. Thank you very much.

Secretariat (Matsuda): Thank you very much, Mr. . We will now begin today's agenda. I would like to ask Mr. Annen, Vice Chairman, to proceed with the following agenda.

Deputy Chairman Annen: Thank you very much for . I'm Annen. I look forward to working with you today.
As for the proceedings of the 5th meeting, we are scheduled to hold hearings from the Transportation Bureau of the National Police Agency, the Real Estate and Construction Economy Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Tourism Industry Division of the Japan Tourism Agency, the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Administrative Management Bureau on regulation in the three fields of training, public inspection, and posting. First of all, Counselor Osawa of the Secretariat, please explain the purpose of today's hearing.

Secretariat (Osawa): Secretariat. Nice to meet you. From me, there was regulation visual inspection, which I have dealt with so far, but today's case is a little different in color, so at the beginning, the Secretariat will explain a little.

First of all, as you can see, I would like to discuss three topics today. One is regulation in In-person Courses. This is regulation, which requires face-to-face training to acquire or renew national certification, and there are time and location restrictions because people have to go to the venue.
The second regulation for viewing and making public documents is a regulation where citizens who want to view and make public public information need to visit public institutions. In some cases, information is provided in response to an application, and in other cases, there is no application. In either case, people can check documents only when they visit a specific location, so there are time and location restrictions.

The third is the posting of documents. This is also a regulation that requires the posting of documents at a specific place, and it is characterized by the fact that it cannot be confirmed unless a person goes to a specific place.

If we look at the typical provisions, first of all, regarding the training, it is a very simple description that "○ ○ must have △ △ take the training," but the point is that in law, there are many cases where it is not clearly specified whether the training will be conducted face-to-face or online. There are examples, such as the National Police Agency that you will discuss today, where it is clear that it is possible to conduct training online by issuing a notification, particularly during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, regarding inspection and public inspection, it is stipulated that "○ ○ must make XX (document) available for public inspection at △ △ (place)," but the point is that it is stipulated that the document be made available for inspection and public inspection at a specific place as a method of inspection and public inspection.

On the other hand, although this point is shaded in gray, according to the provisions of the Digital Procedure Act and the e-Document Act, if it is specified by the ordinance of the competent ministry, it will be possible to browse and inspect online instead of in writing.
Regarding posting, "○ ○ must display XX (document) in a place that is easy for the public to see." The point is that this is also a regulation that requires the document to be posted in a specific place.

With regard to the relationship between regulation and the inspection of the Digital Principles, we will conduct a review based on digitalization by inspecting whether paper intervention, as shown in (I) - 1 in the red box, or human intervention, as shown in (I) - 2, and face-to-face contact remain.

The categorization has already been introduced, so I will briefly explain it. First, from left to right, "training," "posting," and "inspection / public inspection" are arranged. Posting and inspection / public inspection are categorized according to whether the target information is a public certificate or an application. This categorization is done.

Then, from the top to the bottom, PHASE in digitalization will proceed, but in PHASE1, paper and human intervention remain, and in PHASE2, for example, in the leftmost course, one of the processes, such as taking a course, applying for a course before or after, and issuing a certificate, is made possible digitally. In PHASE3, all of these processes will digital completion.

Let's take a look at some precedent cases. This is a training course for food sanitation supervisors. This is a training course conducted by prefectures, etc. to train food sanitation supervisors, which is required to be conducted by each facility engaged in the manufacture and sale of food. E-learning is expected to be introduced in most cases in fiscal 2022.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has made several efforts to implement this course online. For example, in 1995, it promoted the standardization of the content of the course so that the content does not vary from local government to region. In 1989, it was made clear in a notification that it is possible to implement it by e-learning, although it is not clear under the law. In 2021, in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, it called for the active use of e-learning, and the content of the e-learning course established by the Japan Food Sanitation Association is shared.

There are two points below that. One is that a series of processes, including the course itself, such as application for participation and issuance of a certificate after completion, are completed online in a single system.

Second, if we conduct the course online, it will be in spoofs, and in Issue it is difficult to confirm whether the course is being taken properly. However, I believe that this will be helpful for each ministry in advancing efforts to review In-person Courses by taking measures such as facial recognition to confirm identity, preventing skipping and fast-forwarding, and stopping the course if it is left for one hour.

There is also a precedent for a review of the regulation for viewing, public inspection, and posting. One is the public notice of the registered matters of houses for the elderly with services. In law, it is mandatory to publicly notify the registered matters, name, and structure of the house. Regarding this, not only the method of posting on the site, but also the method of using the Internet is allowed, and it is optional.

Although we will not handle it today, there is a typical regulation in which the permit for "XX business" is posted in a place where it is easy to see in the regulation for posting documents. However, even if the document or the original is not posted, the information written there is disclosed on the Internet. I think it will be a precedent case in which such a method is taken.

In addition, regarding the second posting using digital signage, etc. under the Construction Business Act, as you explained in detail today, to put it briefly, it is mandatory to post a construction system diagram and signs at each construction site. However, in January this year, a method using digital signage or a method using the Internet under certain conditions was approved.

The Ministry of Justice will explain about service of documents by publication in the Civil Procedure Code later. The current system is to post the notice at the posting area of the court. According to the bill to amend the Civil Procedure Code submitted to the Diet on March 8, in addition to posting the notice at the posting area, the use of the Internet is expected to be included in the methods specified by the lower law. This will make it necessary to make the notice available to a large number of unspecified people, and digitalization is working on this.

This is the overall picture of the direction indicated in advance by the Secretariat to each ministry and agency regarding individual projects to be discussed today as the policy (draft) of the review.

There are about 1,800 regulation, including lectures, reading and public inspection, and posting. Today, I will cover typical ones and ones that are requested by the industry.

Regarding the two on the left, the safe driving manager training and the inspection of documents to be submitted by the construction industry, I believe that it is necessary to review from PHASE2 to PHASE 3, and regarding the International Tourist Hotel and the Administrative Procedure Act, I believe that it is necessary to review from PHASE1 to PHASE 3.
As for the points of contention, I believe that they will be introduced in the hearings from each ministry and agency later, so I will omit the explanation, but I will briefly introduce only the requests from the business community.

First, regarding the training for safe driving managers, we would like to make online training possible because it takes time and costs to move from a place of residence, etc. to a designated venue.

Regarding the viewing of documents to be submitted by the construction industry, these are documents to be submitted to prefectural governors or, in the case of a wide area, to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. However, it is requested that viewing be made possible digitally because it is necessary to visit the prefectural capital or core city for several hours.

As for international tourist hotels, there are sometimes several hundred rooms, and it is very troublesome to just print, file, and drawer all the rooms, so we would like to make it sufficient for public announcement on the website.

Regarding the Administrative Procedure Act, there is no particular request from the business community, but as I mentioned earlier, there is a draft amendment to the Administrative Procedure Act, so I would like to have a discussion from the perspective of why service of documents by publication cannot be online under the Administrative Procedure Act and why there is a special reason. That's all from me.

Deputy Chairman Annen: Thank you very much for We will now move on to the hearing. As with the previous meeting, I would like to ask Mr. Osawa, Counselor, who has been directly communicating with each ministry and agency.

Secretariat (Osawa): As I introduced, we have four sessions scheduled today, and for the first session, I would like to discuss the training for safe driving managers and others in regulation, In-person Courses. Then, I would like to ask Director Imamura of the Traffic Planning Division of the National Police Agency to make an announcement. Thank you.

Traffic Bureau of the National Police Agency: Metropolitan Police Agency. From now, I will explain the status of the online safe driving manager training.

Page 1 is "1. Safe Driving Manager." Based on the provisions of Article 74-3 of the Road Traffic Act, a safe driving manager must be appointed when a certain number or more of cars are used, specifically, one car for a car with a riding capacity of 11 or more, and five or more other cars.

Next, on page 2, the duties of the safe driving manager are listed.
As described in the box in the lower half, in response to the fatal drinking accident in which five elementary school students were killed in Yachimata City, Chiba in June last year, confirmation of the presence or absence of alcohol intoxication using an alcohol detector will be added to the duties of safe driving managers from October this year.
It is page 3. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 74-3 of the Road Traffic Act, users of motor vehicles are required to have a Safety Driving Supervisor take a training course conducted by the Prefectural Public Safety Commission. Normally, a Safety Driving Supervisor takes a training course once a year, and in many cases, a 6-hour training course is taken at a time, although there are some differences depending on the prefecture.
The flow of the conventional general course is shown in the lower half. After receiving a notice from the Public Safety Commission, you will pay a fee at the venue on the day of the course and take the course. After that, we will send a certificate of the course by mail to those who wish to receive it.

Next, on page 4, it is about the background of the introduction of online safe driving manager training. First, in April 2020, the National Police Agency notified prefectural police that it was possible to replace the lecture method in conference rooms, etc. with a lecture method using the Internet from the viewpoint of COVID-19 pandemic prevention.

In addition, in August last year, we notified that it is possible to continue to hold non-face-to-face training using the Internet from the perspective of administrative digitalization and convenience of participants.

As of the end of September last year, 10 prefectural police departments had conducted online training, and at this point, we have conducted another survey and found that at least three more prefectural police departments have conducted online training.

As for the flow of the course, you need to pay a fee at the counter, but you can take the course itself at the workplace of the safe driving manager, etc., and in some prefectures, the certificate of the course is also available online.

On page 5, we describe the current PHASE and the Issue shown by Digital Agency to advance the PHASE.

To be specific, regarding Issue (1) on page 6, the implementing body is the Prefectural Public Safety Commission, and it is necessary to show the schedule for nationwide deployment at an early date. In addition, regarding what area was found by conducting online training in some Issue, first of all, the NPA is actively considering the schedule with the aim of building and operating a common online system for prefectural police.

Since there is no budget support at this point, we are not at the stage where we can say our policies in public. However, we will proceed with the budget request work so that the system can be operated as soon as possible.

In addition, I have mentioned three points about Issue, and I believe that the largest Issue is that the first fee is paid at the window.

As a background, it is still said that fees must be paid by revenue stamp in many prefectures. I am aware that the government is moving forward with online administrative procedures in local governments, and I expect that improvements will be made in the near future.

Page 7. (2) Regarding when and how the NPA plans to encourage the Prefectural Public Safety Commissions, which are the main implementers of the training, to make the training online, the NPA will develop a full-scale system based on highly convenient digital completion and encourage prefectural police to use it.

Next, regarding Point (3), from the perspective of protecting the digital weak, if In-person Courses is also left, what is the basic concept?

As a premise, in June last year, in order to prevent tragic traffic accidents such as the one in Yachimata City, which I introduced earlier, it is necessary for all safety driving managers to take the course, so if there are people who cannot take the online course, I think it is necessary to leave the face-to-face course.

Since the business establishments subject to the appointment of safe driving managers are limited to those above a certain scale, I believe that the number of business establishments that cannot use the Internet at all is not so large. However, I would like to determine how many face-to-face training sessions need to be held as we advance the online training.

Finally, on page 8, the PHASE we are aiming for is PHASE3. Specifically, we aim to be able to complete the process of applying, taking classes, and issuing certificates online. That's all.

Secretariat (Osawa): . If you have any comments or questions about the current presentation, please let me know. Dr. Masushima, please.

Masujima Member: I understand that there are many very positive moves being made. Please tell me two things.
My first question is, first of all, the revenue stamp of the payment method. You said this part is a big issue. Is it based on some regulation that it must be a revenue stamp? I felt that if I introduced a credit card payment service in private sector, it would be done. Therefore, even though various online activities are being actively carried out, the revenue stamp part still remains. I would like to ask you why you cannot move forward.

The second point is that you said that you might have to assume a certain number of face-to-face meetings if you could not go online, but in a sense, if you go to a specific police station, you can watch online there, and with this system, you can do this. In short, it is necessary to spend as few resources as possible, so even if there are people who cannot use the Internet, if you can take online classes at the police station, you can be alone as a teacher. I felt this way. But what do you think about this? That's all. Thank you very much.

Traffic Bureau of the National Police Agency: So, first of all, regarding your first question, my understanding may be inaccurate, but I think that it is probably decided by the regulation of the prefecture that you must use a seal for payment.

Therefore, rather than the decision of the Prefectural Public Safety Commission, if the Prefectural Governor's Office can decide that the revenue stamp does not need to be used any more, the Public Safety Commission is aware that it can introduce a credit card or other methods.

As for the second option, for example, to come to the police station and watch online, I think there is certainly such a method, so I would like to consider it in the future while taking that point into consideration.

Masujima Member: .

Secretariat (Osawa): , member, please.

SUGAWARA, Member: Thank you for taking a positive view of revenue stamp, I think there are several similar cases other than this case, so I think it would be better to sort it out once.

As for the face-to-face meeting, as Mr. Masushima said, if you don't have an environment where you can take the Internet training by yourself, I think it is possible to consider setting up a training base.

I agree with the secretariat's plan to make every digital completion. In addition to this, there is a possibility that e-learning can be taken by proxy, so it is necessary to develop a mechanism to make sure that the employee takes the course in person.

There is talk of integrating My Number Card and driver's license card. If so, as an interim measure, why don't you think about ideas using what you have now, such as setting the e-learning ID and password with, for example, two types of passwords that multiply the driver's license card number by four digits, or continuing to authenticate your face with a picture of driver's license card while you are taking the course? If you eventually make it possible to take the e-learning course using the personal identification function of My Number Card, and link your face photo with the picture of My Number Card and the result with the My Number information as credentials, I think the administrative management of the backyard will be easier. I would like to ask if you are considering such an idea.

Traffic Bureau of the National Police Agency: pointed out, we have just submitted a bill to amend the Road Traffic Act regarding the integration of driver's license card and My Number Card. Three years from the date of its promulgation, the integration of My Number Card and driver's license card will be introduced.

I would like to thoroughly consider how identity verification will be implemented. However, although we are talking about the integration of My Number Card, only 40% of the population has My Number Card at present, so it is not enough. In addition, there are issues such as personal data protection, so I would like to thoroughly consider these points as well.

Secretariat (Osawa): Nemoto, please.

Mr. Nemoto: Thank you very much for your visit to You have been making excellent efforts, and I hope that various things will be advanced in this way. Individually, I believe that the issues pointed out by Mr. Sugawara, such as the issue of the seal, should be dealt with collectively.

However, I would like to make one comment on this matter. In fact, this course is only one part of a series of actions. In this case, it is only one action in the overall flow of safe driving management, so I would like the National Police Agency, which is making such excellent efforts, to firmly maintain its stance of reviewing the entire system into a digital-based system and move in that direction.

Traffic Bureau of the National Police Agency: Thank you for your pointing out. This time, the National Police Agency focused on the safe driving manager training, but we are also trying to make all administrative procedures online, so I believe that your point can be taken in that context.

Secretariat (Osawa): , please.

Inadani Member: Nemoto and Mr. Sugawara said, but I feel that the issue of certificates will not be so serious this time because they are only for people who want them. However, in cases where the certificates are linked to certain qualifications, for example, as you explained, I thought that there might be ways to ensure authenticity in the future by various methods, such as linking them to My Number or using NFT.

The other is the issue of revenue stamps. I believe it is not just a problem for the NPA, but for Digital Agency and digitalization as a whole. I believe there is also a problem of the relationship between regulation and the matters under the jurisdiction of the law. For example, there was a discussion about the Digital Rights Declaration at the Digital Liaison Office. If we consider that there is a right to proceed with procedures digitally, I believe there is a direction to develop procedures so that procedures can be completed digitally in a unified manner nationwide by interpreting the regulation, which eventually restricts such rights, in a limited manner. I thought that if we advance such efforts, the efforts of the NPA will be further accelerated. That is all.

Traffic Bureau of the National Police Agency: From our agency As you pointed out, we do not issue certificates based on the Road Traffic Act, and they are not tied to a certain qualification, so we only issue certificates to applicants.

Secretariat (Osawa): , I would like to thank you for your support.

Ochiai Member: As other members of the Committee have said, I feel that you are advancing very excellent efforts.
As for the arrangement of the basic policies, as you explained earlier, I would like you to proceed in a way that fully promotes digitalization. The only thing I have is that even if the actual operation at the prefectural or local government level is decided by the central government, it is not the case of the National Police Agency, but there are various cases in other ministries and agencies where it is difficult to communicate. I think it will be Issue how to make it possible to operate in the same way across the country, but what are your thoughts?

Traffic Bureau of the National Police Agency: Metropolitan Police Agency, I believe it is important to first build and operate a common system at the central level, and I would like to encourage prefectural police to build such a system in a way that reduces the burden on them as much as possible, and to actively participate in it.

Ochiai Member: I see. It is very effective, or rather, I think it is very good to prepare the system itself. Thank you very much.

Secretariat (Osawa): ? If you would like to ask any further questions, please contact the Secretariat, and the Secretariat will confirm with the presenter and respond.

The first session will end here. Based on today's discussion, there is a possibility that the Working Group will contact you with additional matters to be considered, so please tell us how to respond.

Traffic Bureau of the National Police Agency: Certainly. Thank you.

Secretariat (Osawa): Next, among the regulation for inspection and public inspection of documents, it is the inspection related to the documents to be submitted by construction companies. Please make an announcement from Director Kambara of the Construction Industry Division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Real Estate and Construction I am Kambara, Director of the Construction Industry Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. I would like to explain based on the materials. It is about viewing the application form for the construction business license. There are currently two types of licenses for the construction business: the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's license and the Governor's license. Under the Construction Business Act, the Minister and the prefectural governor must make documents such as the application form for the license available for public inspection in order to widely provide information on the construction capacity, performance, and management of construction business operators and to make it convenient for orderers and subcontractors to select appropriate construction business operators. We have attached a provision below. It is stated that a reading place for public inspection must be established.

Regarding the actual situation of browsing, we conduct browsing at each Regional Development Bureau and prefectural government. Prior application is not required. When browsing, you are required to enter your name, etc. in the Browsing Book.

As for the actual results, in terms of the permission of the Minister, each Regional Development Bureau has about 6,500 visitors a year, and about 20000 documents are viewed.

About 90% of the visitors are companies, and the majority of visitors are credit research companies such as Teikoku Databank for the purpose of collecting data on construction companies.

Regarding the current PHASE, we request that you visit law, public office, etc. to view it, but we also allow you to view it on the screen, and we believe that it falls under Type 4 (1) of PHASE2. It is the next page.

At present, and in the future, we are currently considering and adjusting the electronic online application of license applications for the construction industry and the electronic browsing of documents, and we plan to start the electronic implementation and operation from January next year. We are working toward the final transition of Type 4 in PHASE3.

Currently, there are applications for construction licenses and management matter examinations separately, but these applications are also document-only applications. Since the preparation and examination of applications are a heavy burden for both parties, it has been decided among various policies of the government to realize online, and we are working toward it.

As written at the bottom, we will start operating the online application system from January 2023. We would like to make it possible to view the online application electronically.

In addition, we would like to operate a unified system between the central and prefectural governments so that online application is possible for all construction companies, regardless of whether they are licensed by the Minister or the Governor. We are currently earnestly advancing coordination with prefectural governments.

As for the functions, as shown below, for example, we would like to make it unnecessary to submit a certificate of tax payment, and documents related to corporate registration, which have been submitted in paper form until now, can be confirmed within the administration through backyard cooperation with the National Tax Agency and the Ministry of Justice, and we would like to make it possible to reduce the burden on administrative agencies and applicants to the maximum extent possible by implementation pre-print functions and error display functions for information already submitted.

This is the last page. Regarding licenses for the construction industry, there are currently about 470,000 licensed companies nationwide. Only about 10,000 companies are subject to ministerial licenses, and the overwhelming majority are prefectural governors' licenses. Therefore, as I wrote on this slide, we have established a Management Council for the Construction Business License and Management Matter Examination online application System with prefectural governments, and we are now discussing it so that prefectural governments can operate the same system at the same timing as much as possible. That's all from me.

Secretariat (Osawa): . If you have any comments or questions about the explanation I have just given, please let me know. Thank you, Mr. Masushima.

Masujima Member: It was very good to know that the government has been actively working on the issue of remote permission for construction since the beginning.

I would like to ask two questions. First, when we talked about digitizing applications, we often had discussions with Digital Agency, but what we should never do is to submit paper applications in PDF format, which is not called digitization. We are talking about the idea of building a database. After that, what is called digitization is something that people who view it can see in an organized manner. To put it bluntly, is it something that can be viewed in PDF format? Is that what you are doing?

The second point I would like to ask is that you are going to create a mechanism called the Steering Committee. I understand that the original purpose is to provide documents such as permits for the convenience of selection, so the essence is that the people can see them very easily.

In that sense, the situation where Teikoku Data Bank and others are coming to see it now is probably much worse than the situation assumed by the law, and I think that if you quickly search on Google, you should be able to see the status of the business operator and the status of the application in a state as simple as you can see the content. I would like to know whether the content will proceed in such a way in the discussions of the Steering Committee.

This is because, as a business operator, there may be a strong sense of not wanting to show this kind of thing on the Internet. If you want to create a system that is as difficult to access as possible, you can do as much as you want. If you do not change the overall specifications to show it to everyone, the usability will be quite bad, and it will be like you did it. Could you please tell us whether you are in a position where this will not happen? That is all.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Real Estate and Construction .
I would like to ask two questions from Mr. Masashima. The computerization we are aiming for will take place in implementation next January after the system is built and tested. However, it will not be in the form of a PDF, but will be in the form of a properly built system and stored in a database.

The applicant is now considering creating a system that is easy to use, such as automatically displaying what was typed last time or displaying an error message if there is a discrepancy.

My second question is about the Steering Committee. We are currently considering with prefectural governments whether there are any additional functions that require implementation, in consideration of the budget, so that we can prioritize and develop them.

In order to prevent it from becoming difficult for those who wish to browse to use it, we have not yet settled on detailed specifications to the point of browsing, but we will pay close attention to it.

The documents to be made available for inspection have already been decided by law. Even if the contractor does not want to show them, they are always available for inspection. So, basically, we would like to make them easy to access and easy to view.

Actually, permission is still on a paper basis, but there is a need, so information on construction companies that have been subject to supervisory disposition has already been made available to the public on the Internet. It is said that this is to avoid contracting with delinquent companies, but the government has been doing this on a voluntary basis, so we will firmly work on the digitization of permission information in an easy-to-use form. That is all.

Masujima Member: . If you turn off the API, people in private sector will access it without permission, create a service that is easy for people to see, and charge for it. I felt that it would be very good in terms of the division of roles between the public and private sectors if the whole flow was like that. Thank you very much.

Secretariat (Osawa): , Vice Chairman, nice to meet you.

Deputy Chairman Annen: Thank you very much for . I am very impressed that you are building a very ambitious and comprehensive system. One thing I would like to ask is that this industry has always been a place with many very small business operators, and I don't think there is a company without even a single computer these days. If this application is to the effect that paper-based business is no longer allowed, there may be a case where we need to provide some kind of support. What are the authorities' thoughts on this point?

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Real Estate and Construction As you pointed out, the overwhelming majority are small and medium-sized enterprises. 99.5% are small and medium-sized enterprises, and since the population is aging, there are quite a few people who are analog.

In addition, the license for the construction industry itself is renewable for five years, so even if we start this online application from this January, even if all companies make a online application, it will take about five years to replace them. So, first of all, I think it is important for us to let people know that we have started a online application and how convenient it is compared to paper.

I heard that there are some small companies that don't like doing it on a computer because they don't eat it. So, we are thinking of explaining the benefits clearly and using them.

Also, in terms of specific support, we would like to have consultation desks and such things at the Maintenance Bureau and each prefectural government. In addition, although we have not yet considered financial support for equipment, etc., we would like to make good products, so we would like to make efforts so that as many people as possible can use them.

Deputy Chairman Annen: Thank you very much for . Do you mean that paper-based applications will be accepted for the time being? Or do you mean that only online application will be accepted from next year? Which one is it?

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Real Estate and Construction and online application. As a result of the survey so far, we believe that there are a considerable number of business operators who cannot respond to the situation in online application alone, so we would like to make a transition in Yokohama as soon as possible. For the time being, we are currently discussing with prefectural governments in a way that allows applications for both.

Secretariat (Osawa): , I would like to thank you for your cooperation.

SUGAWARA, Member: Thank you for taking a positive view of digitalization. First of all, what is the reason for asking you to enter your name in the reading book? I think it is premised that when browsing the web, digitalization will be done without changing the contents. In addition, is it an image that the construction history and financial statement are the latest ones to be posted? Are they updated every year even on a current paper basis?

For example, I think that the construction business license is renewed once every five years, but why is it renewed for five years? In addition, as written here, if the purpose is to widely provide the abilities of construction business operators and to help select orderers and subcontractors, if the financial statement and construction history are old, I don't think it is meaningful to make them available on the web in the first place. With this opportunity and digitalization, it is necessary to review the content in the first place.
I believe that the effects of the original business law will be enhanced only if there is a review of the content. Thank you.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Real Estate and Construction I believe that I have just received a very important point from Mr. Sugawara. The reason why we are asking you to put your name on the form is because some of us ask you to view it on a computer screen, but some of us ask you to view it in documents, so to speak, it is to prevent loss.

In order to prevent the company's data from being stolen when someone comes to view it, or in relation to the fact that you are actually viewing it, we are currently asking you to enter your name, but if it becomes possible to view it on the Internet in the future, this will not be necessary. In that case, we are now thinking of not requiring you to enter your name and other information one by one.

In addition, regarding the information to be made available for inspection, under the Construction Business Act, a notification of change is required to be submitted every year, and the latest financial statements and construction history are submitted from the construction company to the competent administrative agency every year. Therefore, the system is always called release, in which updated information is made available for inspection. That is all.

Secretariat (Osawa): Then, Ochiai members, nice to meet you.

Ochiai Member: I felt that you are advancing your efforts in a very positive manner. One thing I would like to ask is that in Article 13 of the Construction Business Act, it is written that a reading place for public viewing must be established. If digitalization is advanced, it will be possible to view it from anywhere, even from home, so I think it is possible to consider a form in which it is only necessary to provide it digitally, rather than seeking a specific place called a reading place. What are your plans for this area? I believe that there may be a revision of the law.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Real Estate and Construction At present, I believe that paper browsing will remain for a while, and I would like to gradually change the browsing of online application to electronic browsing. If we do not revise the law immediately, we believe that paper browsing at reading offices and electronic browsing are possible. However, when online application comes to a certain extent and electronic browsing is already possible, the provision that a reading office must be established will be inappropriate, and in that case, I believe that it is necessary to revise the law. I believe that we will not establish a reading office, but provide it for browsing, and aim for an electronic way of providing browsing.

Ochiai Member: I think that information disclosure, which means to make it available for inspection, is necessary, and I think that it may be selective.

However, when it becomes digital and we have a reading office, our response will be duplicated. While we are responding to social requests to provide information, I think there is a possibility that our operations will be duplicated. Regarding that part, I would like you to continue to consult with the Secretariat so that we can switch to it at a good timing in conjunction with the maintenance of the system. Thank you.

Secretariat (Osawa): The second session will end here.
Based on today's discussion, there is a possibility that the Working Group will contact you to request additional consideration. In that case, please take care of it. Then, I would like to return the proceedings to Vice Chairman Annen. Mr. Annen, please.

Deputy Chairman Annen: Thank you very much for , I would like to begin the second half of the meeting. As in the first half, I would like to ask Mr. Osawa, Counselor, to proceed with the hearing.

Secretariat (Osawa): , we will discuss the posting of documents. First, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism will introduce prior examples of posting obligations, followed by a Q & A session. After that, the Japan Tourism Agency will explain and hold a Q & A session. Then, continuing from the previous session, Mr. Kambara, Director of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, please explain the prior examples.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Real Estate and Construction Once again, I am Kambara from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Nice to meet you. In January of this year, we clarified the so-called interpretation and operation. We are sharing materials on the "Use of Digital Signage in Posting Construction Business License Signs."

Currently, under the Construction Business Act, it is required as an obligation to display the license certificate of the construction business, the construction system diagram, and the construction system of the construction site in an easy-to-see place.

Usually, a construction site has a temporary enclosure, and it is difficult to see what is going on inside from the outside. However, it is necessary to make it so that the noise is terrible, the dust is flying, where to contact, and which company is responsible for this from the outside.

In the past, it was basically carried out on paper. As you may have seen, it is the construction business license slip attached to the wall of the construction site. This time, it has been clarified that if certain requirements are met, it can be posted on digital signage.

As a result, we have attached photos, but in the past, this was the form of posting the construction system diagram. It was covered with vinyl so that it would be safe even if it got wet in the rain, or laminated, or if there were many companies, it would require a lot of paper, so it took a lot of time and effort. However, as shown on the right, we have made it known to the industry that we are fulfilling our legal obligations by posting it on digital signage.

The requirements are written below, but this is only to ensure that the public can obtain the information when they need it. Therefore, it is requested that the screen size, character size, and design be such that the content can be confirmed, and that it is clearly stated that the information on the permit form and the information on the construction system required by the Construction Business Act can be confirmed in this digital signage.

It can be either a touch panel or a slide show. In addition to those under the Construction Business Act, there are similar signs under our jurisdiction, such as those for demolition work operators under the Construction Recycling Act and those for septic tanks. We have taken similar measures. Basically, we recognize that people in the industry are pleased with it. That's all.

Secretariat (Osawa): . If you have any comments or questions, please let us know. Member of Ochiai, please.

Ochiai Member: Thank you for proceeding with this as well. I believe that this digital signage is being handled so that it can be seen on-site. For example, I think it is possible that it will be posted on the Internet so that it can be seen easily. Is there anything you would like to consider in the future?

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Real Estate and Construction Basically, we would like to continue to ask for posting at the site so that people in the neighborhood can see it immediately at the site. However, regarding the Internet you pointed out, for example, even if it is possible with the digital signage this time, we have conducted various interviews with the industry, and we have heard that it is difficult to obtain the understanding of people in the neighborhood because of the living environment, especially in residential areas at night, where digital signage continues to glow and slides are changing.

In that case, in order to maintain a quiet environment, digital signage should be stopped at the site at night, but it should be noted that the same information can be viewed on the Internet. We are now notifying the industry. In that sense, we are starting to make it possible to view the same information on the Internet.

Ochiai Member: Of course, it may be when you go to see it, but if you are in the neighborhood, it is relatively easy to see it at home on the Internet, or the spread of the Internet and mobile phones has already increased considerably. In some cases, it is better to experiment with the Internet alone, which will lead to cost rationalization as a whole. I think it is more fulfilling to be able to see it from a distance than to be able to see it unless you go to the place. I would like you to consider such a matter. Thank you very much.

Secretariat (Osawa): . Is there anything else I can do for you? Thank you again, Mr. Kambara, Director of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Real Estate and Construction .

Secretariat (Osawa): In that case, Mr. Kakinuma, Director of the Tourism Industry Division of the Japan Tourism Agency, please make an announcement.

Japan Tourism Agency: Nice to meet you. I'm Kakinuma, Director of the Tourism Industry Division of the Tourism Agency.
What you showed me today is how to publicize the rates and accommodation terms and conditions under the International Tourist Hotel Development Act.

First of all, regarding the purpose of the law, it was an extremely old law that was enacted in the 1945 s. At that time, it was soon after the end of World War II, so it was not yet common for foreign nationals to come to Japan for sightseeing. At that time, there were many U.S. Forces stationed in Japan, and in such an era, the law was enacted with the aim of increasing the number of facilities in which foreign nationals can stay.

Let me start by saying that, although there is a duty to publicly announce the rates and accommodation terms and conditions, we are not omitting those that are currently digitally compatible, so I would like to put them on the digitalization as a whole, which is being implemented in Digital Agency. However, some business operators are not digitally compatible, so how to support them will be the key.

On page 1, as I said, the purpose of this law is to increase the number of hotels and ryokans that offer enhanced hospitality to foreign tourists.

On the lower right, if you look at the number of registered facilities, it is actually not that many hotels and ryokans are registered.

On the next page, the second point is why we have to publicly announce the rates and accommodation terms and conditions set by registered hotels and ryokans in the Hotel Maintenance Act. There are only two points.
The first is consumer protection, and the second is consumer protection. However, in order to prevent problems from occurring, for the above two reasons, as shown in the third line, it is stipulated that fees and accommodation terms and conditions must be provided and posted at the entrance, front desk, and guest rooms.

On the next page, here is the specific grounds. As the grounds, first of all, there is a notification obligation by law, and in paragraph 3 of the same article, it is specified that it must be written in Japanese and foreign languages. And it is specified that it must be prepared and posted in the specified place. It is specified by the Ministerial Ordinance, and it is specified that the fee and accommodation terms and conditions must be posted firmly at the entrance or front desk and in the guest room.

Moving to the lower part of the page, I would like to examine the current status of the systems. The majority of registered hotels and ryokans use booklets and signboards, but in terms of law, the use of means utilizing digital technology is not excluded. As stated in the second part, some hotels and ryokans take measures such as posting the notice on the TV screen in the guest room. We regard these measures as public notice in the guest room.

However, in order to make public announcements using digital technology, it is necessary to introduce a certain system, and the current situation is that only some facilities are taking such measures.

On the next page, I would like to ask where PHASE is applicable this time. It is possible to use a means that conforms to the digital principle. It is as I explained. For this reason, in fact, measures that conform to the digital principle have already been taken in operation, and there are examples of such measures being taken on TV screens.

On the next page, I would like to point out an issue for the future. We believe that it is legally acceptable to make a digitalization, but we believe that a certain system is necessary. First of all, as the first line is drawn, the majority of business operators have not yet done this, so I think one Issue is that it will be a burden to newly introduce equipment and systems for digital compatibility.

Also, in the first place, there are no digital device environments. This is two sided, but in the same way as there are no devices, for example, in island areas, there are places where there are no Wi-Fi environments, so I think Issue will be able to respond to such places.

As for our future policies, we would like to consider revising the system based on digital completion after giving consideration to facilities and users who are not digital compatible. That's all.

Secretariat (Osawa): . If you have any comments or questions, please. Member Masashima, please.

Masujima Member: I understand that there are quite old laws, and you are taking care of them in various ways.

One point, when we think about things from the perspective of digital, I always talk about how important the concept of location is. Since it is a posting, I think it was originally planned to be done on paper, so I was asked where it would be posted. However, when it comes to digital and the Internet, where is less meaningful. I feel that this is an important part of the essence of digital.

Why don't you tell them that it's OK if they have a QR code and can see it on the Internet when they touch the terminal? It's obvious that they will be told that it will cost money if you ask them to prepare an iPad for each facility. So, in order to make it more accessible, if you just put a QR code and tell them that it's OK if they can see it on the Internet, it feels like it will go further.

Of course, we may ask you to put one at the front desk for those who don't have a net, but how would you consider this area?

Japan Tourism Agency: I believe that the point you just mentioned is a very important point, but I first mentioned consumer protection as the purpose of this law. I believe that there is a flow of current consumers checking in at hotels and ryokans and then actually spending time in their rooms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, contactless check-in and such things have become popular recently. For example, I hear that there are an increasing number of cases where people check in before they come to the hotel in advance and go directly to their rooms.

Based on the actual situation, we will firmly consider how to come to terms with the purpose of the law, which is to protect consumers and prevent problems.

Secretariat (Osawa): , Vice Chair, please.

Deputy Chairman Annen: Thank you very much for I think it was based on my complete ignorance, but I thought that international tourist hotels were really top-notch hotels. Of course, even if I was not told, I thought that they were vendors who were digitally compatible with TV.

If this is the case, I thought that the problem in digitalization is that there are more elderly people who stay in high-end hotels, so it is rather the problem that the guests are not used to digital and cannot use it well. Isn't that necessarily the case now?

Japan Tourism Agency: First of all, in the main premise, there is a standard for facilities. It is written in the box on the left. In the main standard for hotels, it is written that there are standard guest rooms because they have more than a certain level of guest rooms. It is written that there are more than 15 rooms. In short, it is not just ultra-high-end hotels, but actually various hotels are registered, so this problem has occurred.

As you just said, there are probably problems in both areas, and the hotel cannot respond to digital in the first place. In the same way that there is a so-called father and mother management, I think that the customer is not only in our field but also in the common Issue, but mainly the elderly cannot respond to digital. I think there are both sides.

Deputy Chairman Annen: Thank you very much for .

Secretariat (Osawa): , please.

Inadani Member: , I think there are quite a few people who use English sites, accommodation sites, reservations. com or Trivago.

In that case, it may be related to the fact that Dr. Masashima said at the beginning that the location does not matter very much, but for example, when you make a reservations on such a site, you will receive the information specified here together with a confirmation email for the reservations. Of course, there will be a problem of how to cooperate with private business, but I believe that you have talked about checking in without contact, and considering that it will be possible to leave the room without going to the front desk, I thought that such a method may be an option from the perspective of protecting consumers and informing people who use the room. What are your thoughts on this point?

Japan Tourism Agency: As you said, I would like to strike a balance between the perspective of consumer protection and the future of reservations.

As you just said, OTA and other types of reservations are increasing, and when I asked ryokans and hotels, there is a move to increase reservations from their own websites. In such cases, of course, as you just said, it is possible to send by e-mail from our own company, so we would like to respond in accordance with the times while carefully considering the actual situation.

Secretariat (Osawa): , please.

Ochiai Member: Thank you for proceeding positively. I think the most important point of the content we are discussing this time is to ensure that we have created an opportunity to be seen by all means. I think that is regardless of whether it is via OTA or directly from the hotel's own site.

In the case of the website, the terms and conditions can be sent via the website, and the hotel must send them when they make a reservations. By incorporating such a process, for example, it is possible to create a situation in which at least those who come from the web are always seen by everyone.

On the other hand, if you sometimes make a reservations using a method other than the web, I don't think you will probably be able to check in without contact with such people. For such people, I think you can put a tablet or device at the entrance, ask if the front desk staff would like to see it, and say that you can see it here if you need it. If you are told that you don't need it, I think it is the same as if it was in your room and you didn't see it, so if you take such a method, I think it will be more positive than now in the sense that you don't know if you are seeing it or not, but at least you have secured a specific opportunity to see it.

I believe there are several inflow channels, but I believe that it is not always necessary to use paper to guarantee specific opportunities. I believe that responding to the digital divide can be followed up with the help of people at the front desk. Based on such methods, and since I do not believe that it is mandatory to make it digital, I believe that it is necessary to have business operators who can do it do it first. Considering such a perspective, can't you flexibly interpret it so that business operators who can do it can implement it selectively? I hope that you will consider it from this perspective.

Japan Tourism Agency: Thank you very much for your very valuable suggestions. As you say, I think we, the administration, are partly responsible for the fact that we have not thoroughly reviewed the law since it was established in the 1945 s. Of course, there was no Internet in that era, and there was still not much reservations through travel agencies. I think there are still parts from the era when there were many things such as walk-ins and telephone calls in the past. As you said, I would like to proceed from the perspective of properly protecting consumers in a way that suits the current era.

Of course, we also think that the transformation of digitalization, especially DX, is essential for improvements in productivity in the accommodation industry, so we would like to work on it positively. Thank you very much.

Ochiai Member: Nice to meet you.

Secretariat (Osawa): Do you have any other questions? If you don't mind, I would like to end this session here. Based on today's discussion, there is a possibility that the Working Group will contact you to make an additional examination request. In that case, please tell us how to respond. Next, I would like to move on to the next session. The next session is on digitalization under the service of documents by publication System. In this session, first, the Ministry of Justice will introduce precedent cases, followed by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications's explanation on the service of documents by publication System under the Administrative Procedure Act, and finally, we will have a question-and-answer session. First of all, I would like to ask Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kobayashi, who is the chair of the meeting, to make a statement on the purpose of today's hearing. Thank you very much.

Senior Vice-Minister for Digital Today, thank you very much for your cooperation, everyone at the Ministry of Justice and everyone in Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
In addition to this project, the Secretariat is coordinating various matters. However, as time goes by, laws created in the past are no longer in tune with modern social conditions and technological progress. Or, I think that we are in a situation where we can rationalize more than at that time.

We would like to take this opportunity to submit it in the form of a lump-sum law, so we are preparing this opportunity to change the legal system to suit modern times together while reducing the burden on everyone as much as possible.
The reason why we are doing it in a closed system is that we would like to think about how we can overcome it together while being taught various Issue honestly. So, we would like to share various Issue and know-how. Thank you very much.

Secretariat (Osawa): Thank you very much. Then, Mr. Uchino, Civil Law Administrator of the Civil Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice, please explain the preceding cases.

Civil Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice: I do not have any particular idea about what you pointed out, but what should be publicly announced in service of documents by publication using the Internet will be discussed in Issue in the future, so I would like to continue to consider what should be based on what you pointed out today. Thank you for your introduction. My name is Uchino, and I am a civil law administrator at the MOJ Civil Affairs Bureau. Today, I would like to explain the part concerning service of documents by publication in the bill to amend part of the Code of Civil Procedure that has been submitted to the Diet.

I have prepared a document entitled "Outline of the Revised Bill on service of documents by publication" for your explanation.
First of all, regarding the section "History of Consideration on IT Implementation of Civil Procedure," as it goes through a series of such chronological sequences, the relevant bill was approved by the Cabinet on March 8, 2022, and is currently being submitted to the National Assembly. Therefore, the content of today's explanation is to introduce the part related to service of documents by publication in the content of this bill.

Next, first of all, I would like to confirm the current legal discipline concerning service of documents by publication. Under the Code of Civil Procedure, it is necessary to serve and deliver court documents to the parties to the trial. This is exactly what is done to guarantee the procedure, but if the documents cannot be served if the whereabouts of the parties are unknown, it will mean that the trial procedure cannot be carried out, so in this regard, the method of service of documents by publication can be taken.

As stated in the box, the court will keep the documents and post a notice on the bulletin board of the court to the effect that the Issue will be made to the parties at any time. The specific content of the posting is currently left to the operation of the court, but in practice, the case number, the name of the case, the names of the parties, and a list of documents to be served are posted.

However, with such a method, in the end, it is impossible to check the posting unless you actually go to the posting area of the court. Therefore, from the viewpoint of improving the convenience of the parties and realizing the service of documents by publication, the introduction of a method using the Internet has been considered.

On the other hand, if only the Internet method is used, there may be no chance for people who are not familiar with the use of the Internet to recognize service of documents by publication. Therefore, it was considered necessary to maintain the environment in which people can be seen if they go to the court as before.

Based on these considerations, the revised bill provides that the method of service of documents by publication shall be both public notice on the Internet and public notice in the court.

The specific content is the "Content of the Amendment Bill" as shown. First of all, as mentioned in (1), the method specified by the Rules of the Supreme Court, which is supposed to be posted on the website, will be publicly announced. The specific content will be examined by the Supreme Court.

In addition to this, (2) we will post a notice similar to that under the current law or prepare a terminal in the court so that visitors can see it on the terminal.

In addition, among the opinions expressed at the Legislative Council, some expressed support for the introduction of the service of documents by publication Plan in the form of using the Internet, but some expressed the opinion that the information to be posted on the website should be limited more than the operation I mentioned earlier, taking the fact that such information will be publicly announced on the Internet as a de facto problem.

On the other hand, if we limit the information to be posted too much, for example, we may not be able to understand the incident or actually notice the service of documents by publication even if we look at the website, so I think it is difficult to balance this point.
Therefore, regarding the type of information to be publicly announced, it is left to the operation of the court while taking procedural guarantees into consideration, and I believe that this matter will continue to be under consideration in Issue. That is all for the explanation at the beginning.

Secretariat (Osawa): . Next, Mr. Mizuno, Director of the Investigation and Legislation Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Administrative Management Bureau, please make an announcement.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Administrative Management Bureau: This is the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Administrative Management Bureau. I will explain about "service of documents by publication of Hearings under the Administrative Procedure Act".

This time, you pointed out that it is desirable to implement it online. To begin with, we would like to promote posting on the Internet, and we have started to seriously consider the issues involved in realizing it.

In the following, I would like to briefly explain the service of documents by publication under the Administrative Procedure Act. On page 1 of the document, it is prescribed in Article 15, paragraph 3 of the Administrative Procedure Act.

On page 2, when the administrative agency intends to make an adverse disposition such as the revocation of a license / permission, it is necessary to give the person who is to be the addressee of the adverse disposition an opportunity to exercise his / her right to defense through a hearing, etc. Therefore, as a method in which the location of the addressee is unknown, a method in which public notice matters are posted on the bulletin board of the office, so-called service of documents by publication, has been adopted.

Regarding matters to be publicly notified, by posting the name of the person, the date and place of the hearing, the name and location of the organization in charge of the affairs related to the hearing, and the fact that the administrative agency will make a Issue to the person at any time on the bulletin board of the office, the notice of the hearing will be deemed to have arrived when two weeks have elapsed, and the procedures for the adverse disposition can be proceeded with.

On page 3, regarding the current PHASE, we recognize that it falls under PHASE1-1 because it is required to be posted in writing by law, etc., but we are considering further advancing PHASE.

In addition, there is the so-called Digital Procedures Act under the jurisdiction of the Government of Digital Agency, and when I looked at its Commentary, it says that it is possible to widely provide information on matters that have been publicly notified in writing by posting them on the websites of the Cabinet Office and each Ministry without preparing new laws and regulations, and I am aware that it is arranged in such a way. Of course, if a unified policy is indicated in the entire Digital Principles, I believe that it will be necessary for us.

It is page 4. The point is that the service of documents by publication under the Administrative Procedure Act is subject to not only adverse dispositions made by national administrative agencies but also adverse dispositions made by local governments based on laws and regulations, and there may be various procedures close to residents.

Therefore, if the name of the person who is to be the addressee of the Adverse Disposition is posted on the Internet, it may itself become sensitive information. Therefore, it is possible to consider the issue of whether or not the scope of posting should be left to the discretion of the administrative agency in order to protect the rights and interests of individuals.

In relation to this, the personal data of a bankrupt person has been posted and made public in official gazettes. I am aware that there has been a case in which a business operator illegally posted the personal data on his website and Personal Information Protection Commission ordered the suspension of the website based on the Bankruptcy Protection Act.

First of all, we will consider these issues based on the current situation of each Ministry, while keeping in mind that the authorities will present their views to each Ministry. That is all.

Secretariat (Osawa): . If you have any comments or questions about the two presentations just made, please let me know. Thank you, Mr. Nemoto.

Mr. Nemoto: Thank you very much for your visit to

Second, you explained that both the Ministry of Justice and service of documents by publication are hesitant about posting information on the Internet that is currently disclosed in Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. I do not understand the cause of the hesitation. I do not understand why I should hesitate to publish what has already been published.

In addition, I understand that the personal data protection and other matters that Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications mentioned at the end were cases in which the handling paths were clearly different. My understanding is that the handling of personal data conducted by the administrative agency is clearly different from that in the form of transcribing it, and I had the impression that it would be inappropriate to cite that as an example in the course of this review. That is all.

Secretariat (Osawa): , Ministry of Justice, and Mr. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, in that order, please.

Civil Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice: I do not have any particular idea about what you pointed out, but what should be publicly announced in service of documents by publication using the Internet will be discussed in Issue in the future, so I would like to continue to consider what should be based on what you pointed out today. . Thank you for pointing this out. First of all, regarding the number of people who appear in service of documents by publication, unfortunately, we do not have the number of people who appear annually. There can be various situations in which people appear in a lawsuit, so I believe that the court does not have the number of people who appear in a lawsuit.

However, in the discussions so far, I have heard of cases in which service of documents by publication was seen and appeared at the window because of what it was like. Therefore, I believe that service of documents by publication has become an ideological entity, and it is difficult to evaluate it as practically meaningless under the current situation.

Next, I would like to ask why the Legislative Council hesitates to make public announcements on the Internet even now. From this perspective, I feel that the atmosphere of the Council is partly reflected in the fact that it is not allowed to do so.

However, as a matter of fact, the actual power of the Internet to make the content posted more widely known than the current content, or the power of the Internet, was frankly grasped, and there was an opinion in the Legislative Council that it was a matter of comparison with the current one that it had not been widely seen in practice until now, and that it was somewhat hesitant in relation to privacy.

However, as you pointed out, the content has been made public until now, but since the content is the content, how much of this should be narrowed down in relation to the indications that have emerged in the course of the discussions thus far that I just mentioned? I have just introduced the content of the information publicly announced under the current law, but I feel that how much it can be limited or not based on this will be discussed as a matter of balance from now on. That is all for my explanation.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Administrative Management Bureau: This is the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Administrative Management Bureau. I would like to respond to the statement by Mr. Nemoto. First of all, regarding the number of service of documents by publication based on the Administrative Procedure Act, although we do not have an accurate figure, we believe that it is not actually used so much because it is subject to hearing when the permission is canceled, and because the permission is issued first and the location is known at that time. We have asked each ministry and agency, and the fact is that each ministry and agency does not know so much.

However, this procedure has been established from the viewpoint of procedural security in that it provides a minimum opportunity for defense when an administrative agency makes an adverse disposition. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, the purpose of this procedure is to ensure the transparency and appropriateness of administrative agencies and to protect the rights and interests of individuals. Therefore, I believe that such a mechanism of service of documents by publication is necessary in terms of procedural security.

Also, I have heard that there may be some hesitation about posting the notice on the Internet. However, this is not necessarily the case. Under the law, public notice has already been made, and it may be unavoidable if the whereabouts of the person in question are unknown. Therefore, we would like to proceed with posting the notice on the Internet.

As a limited case, I am a little concerned that there may be cases in which sensitive information may unduly infringe on the rights and interests of individuals in unexpected places.

As for the relationship with the personal data protection of the information on the bankrupt mentioned earlier, it is an act under the Administrative Procedure Act to publicly notify the name of the bankrupt, and it is also an act under the jurisdiction of the public authorities to publish the information on the website, so we believe that there is no particular problem. However, it may induce a violation of the personal data Protection Act on the side that acquires this information. Such a problem has actually occurred with the information on the bankrupt, so I believe that there are ways to prevent this. Since we are amateurs, we would like to ask for advice from the Digital Agency on a voluntary basis, such as preventing the information from being digitally copied.

Mr. Nemoto: Thank you very much for your visit to . I personally understand some of the talks between the two ministries, but if there are still some parts that I really don't want to disclose, I think it would be possible to solve them by Mynaportal or a portal for corporations.

With regard to Mr. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications's comment at the end, I would like to say that there is a personal data Protection Law and Personal Information Protection Commission to prevent such inappropriate use of personal data. I understand that it is not a legal system that Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications must cover. That is all.

Secretariat (Osawa): , member, please.

Masujima Member: Thank you very much. I would like to ask the Ministry of Justice to tell us about the issue of posting. The current law states that "posting at the posting area of the court" makes it impossible to see unless you go to the court. Based on this statement, do you understand that the right to know or due process and privacy are balanced by the law?

As Keidanren mentioned earlier, if disclosure is made on the Internet, we say regulation by architecture, and if access is balanced by restricting it by law, then posting it on the website will change the point of balancing, so I think the Council will discuss whether it is good or not. Earlier, you emphasized that this is a de facto problem, but I felt that this is rather a problem of legal rights adjustment, that is, a problem of adjusting the right to know and the right to privacy depending on the wording of law. Therefore, I would like to know whether such a discussion was made at the Council.

In addition, regarding Mr. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications's part, if it is said that disclosure can be made in law, it will be based on law, so it seemed that there would be no problem under the Personal Information Act.

With regard to the fact that there may be some sensitive factors, under the Personal Information Act, there is a category called Special Care-required personal data, and it says to be careful about this. On the other hand, if disclosure is made by law, even if it is actually a Special Care-required personal data, disclosure can be made, and I think that balancing with privacy has already been achieved under the Personal Information Act. Do we need to consider other factors independently?

For example, if there is a logic to impose other obligations on the administration under the Telecommunications Business Law or another business law system, it may be necessary to consider such a matter, but I had the impression that this was not the case in service of documents by publication. I would like to ask you about the interpretation of law. Could you please tell us whether the Administrative Procedure Law is seen as a law that must take into account the business perspective, such as whether it will benefit the business law or whether the Ministry will consider a different structure?

Civil Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice: I do not have any particular idea about what you pointed out, but what should be publicly announced in service of documents by publication using the Internet will be discussed in Issue in the future, so I would like to continue to consider what should be based on what you pointed out today. First of all, it is from the Ministry of Justice. You pointed out that the fact that it is posted in the posting area itself is considered based on balancing the right to know. I think this is a very core point, but there are no materials at hand, and I am worried if I can give a specific and strict answer, but the method of posting it in the posting area of the court under the current law is the method of service of documents by publication, which has been adopted since the Meiji period.

Therefore, from the perspective of what can be done as so-called procedural security, I feel that it is appropriate to understand from the outside that the method of posting at the court was taken because it was a court procedure.

Therefore, for example, considering the aspect of the service of documents by publication of the complaint, from the viewpoint that the accused knows that the suit is pending, the relationship with the right to know can be certainly seen, but it is quite questionable whether the posting on the notice board itself has been considered as a balancing act since, for example, the Meiji period. Rather, as a method of procedural security, since it is a court procedure, only the method of posting on the notice board of the court has been considered, and I feel that this has been adopted.

Masujima Member: I see. Thank you.

Secretariat (Osawa): , please.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Administrative Management Bureau: This is the personal data Protection Act. We believe that these are operational problems rather than legal or procedural problems. As for the relationship with the personal data Protection Act, we believe that it is under the jurisdiction of Personal Information Protection Commission. We have presented it here as a possible issue, and we have introduced it to ask for the opinions of experts.

If there are no particular problems and there are no concerns, of course, we would like to follow them.

Masujima Member: .

Secretariat (Osawa): , please.

Inadani Member: I am very interested in the digitalization of procedural law, so I listened with great interest.

It already overlaps with what Mr. Nemoto and Mr. Masashima said, and I believe that it was also an announcement by the Ministry of Justice, but I believe that the fundamental principle in considering the system is to ensure that procedures are guaranteed. In other words, if the starting point is to guarantee procedures to each person and to as wide a range of people as possible, it would be putting the cart before the horse if procedures are not guaranteed in order to protect the privacy of the person. In today's conversation, the person did not know that the lawsuit had been filed. In that sense, it would be more reasonable to make it known from the perspective of public notice, so I thought it would be more reasonable to proceed with the process.

Apart from that, as Mr. Masushima said, it may be possible to think that the problem of the Bankruptcy Map is just a consequence. However, if there is a balance between privacy and the right to know by default in certain existing systems, and if there are people who abuse the Internet to break this balance, it is violating the default protection of privacy, or at least destroying the existing balance. If it causes social problems, it is probably reasonable to consider it as a problem of regulation.

Another point is that, as I heard from Nemoto, in the long run, I thought it would be better to change to a method of notifying you without fail that something is happening by devising a method such as My Number, Mynaportal, or corporate ID.
If you have any thoughts on the above, please let me know your answers.

Civil Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Justice: I do not have any particular idea about what you pointed out, but what should be publicly announced in service of documents by publication using the Internet will be discussed in Issue in the future, so I would like to continue to consider what should be based on what you pointed out today.

Inadani Member: .

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Administrative Management Bureau: This is the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Administrative Management Office. Thank you for your pointing out. As I said at the beginning, we would like to actively promote posting on the Internet, and I said that we had started earnest consideration of the points to be discussed. In the process of consideration, there was a case such as information on bankrupt persons, and we were also considering what to do about this. We have introduced you from such a perspective. From the viewpoint of procedural security, you have pointed out that if we pay attention to this point, we may put the cart before the horse. I understand that this is quite possible. Therefore, I would like to ask for your continued guidance.

Inadani Member: Thank you very much.

Secretariat (Osawa): , please.

Ochiai Member: is specified in the Administrative Procedure Act. When considering administrative dispositions and procedures for filing appeals against them, if you look at the Conmentaler, etc., it is said that Article 15, Paragraph 3 of the Administrative Procedure Act itself is also developed in a form that is in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure to some extent. Furthermore, I believe that the Administrative Case Litigation Act is related to the fact that it applies mutatis mutandis to civil proceedings in the first place. When viewed as a whole legal system, it is basically developed in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure, and on the other hand, it is appropriate to consider the peculiarities of administrative procedures. service of documents by publication

At that time, I believe that non-disclosure, which was also pointed out by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, is slightly different from civil trials, which are based on public disclosure. For this reason, Article 15, paragraph 3 of the Administrative Case Litigation Act limits the matters to be posted at the time of service. In this regard, if there is information that can be slightly limited compared to civil cases, it is possible to limit the content and make it public.

I believe this is the overall setup, but another point is from the perspective of the personal data Protection Act. Regarding the personal data Protection Act, if the provision is basically based on law, it is considered that the provision to third parties, etc. can be provided without consent because it falls under the exception of obtaining consent. In terms of formal suitability of law, it is considered to be basically legal.
On the other hand, I think that there is a possibility that it will be an infringement of privacy rights. I think that the discussion on how to practically ensure privacy is more important than the personal data Protection Act itself.

As a measure against this, in the personal data Protection Act, in the revised Act that came into effect in April, Article 19 says that it is inappropriate use. In the Guidelines, etc., documents posted by the court are collected, and the map of bankrupt persons is particularly taken into consideration, but these are added to the scope of regulation as inappropriate use. In the case of administrative procedures, it is considered that this part should be explicitly written in Personal Information Protection Commission just in case.

As a result, I believe that the person who collected the information and provided it as a database should at least be in violation of the personal data Protection Act. I believe that this is also the case with the delivery of the Code of Civil Procedure, but if the arrangement I just made is insufficient, I believe that it is possible for Personal Information Protection Commission to position the information on lawsuits and administrative dispositions as personal data requiring special consideration.

In that case, the acquisition itself will be based on principles and consent, and further protection will be strengthened on the side of the personal data Protection Act. In relation to administrative procedures, I believe that we can clear up the issue to some extent by considering the two points of whether the information that can be posted is minimized as much as possible. What do you think?
I have also quoted some of the content of the Compendals and Guidelines of each law, so please tell me as much as you can answer.

Secretariat (Osawa): , please.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Administrative Management Bureau: This is the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Administrative Management Bureau. Thank you for your comments. In relation to the Code of Civil Procedure, it is said that our Administrative Procedure Law was formulated based on the Code of Civil Procedure. I am not in a position to answer about the purpose of the Code of Civil Procedure, but in principle, trials are open to the public, and the right to be tried is guaranteed by law, so we are guessing that it was necessary to specify the court proceedings by law.

Service of documents by publication under the Administrative Procedure Act is conducted as part of administrative procedures that are not disclosed to the public in principle, and I believe that administrative agencies need to carefully consider the fact that it is widely applied regardless of the country or region. Therefore, I would like to ask for your continued guidance as we discuss the entire Digital Principles going forward.

In relation to privacy, as you said, we are aware that the personal data Protection Act has already included provisions such as the prohibition of inappropriate use, and I understand that it is fully possible that the Act has taken sufficient measures.

Ochiai Member: In relation to the former right to receive a judicial decision, for example, I believe that the application of due process is not directly applicable to administrative procedures, but I believe that it is also being discussed in relation to the Constitution and other matters that it should be substantially applied to administrative procedures. Of course, I believe that administrative procedures are not a situation in which rights do not need to be considered, so I would like you to consider this point of view.

Secretariat (Osawa): I would like to conclude today's final session. Thank you very much to Mr. Tsutomu Uchino, Director-General of the Ministry of Justice, and Mr. Tsutomu Mizuno, Director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Division, for attending despite your busy schedule. Based on today's discussion, there is a possibility that the Working Group will contact you for additional examination request. In that case, please tell us how to respond. I will now return the proceedings to Mr. Yasunen, Vice Chairman. Thank you.

Deputy Chairman Annen: Thank you very much for , thank you very much for your open-minded discussion today. That's all for the agenda.

In conclusion, I would like to ask Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kobayashi to say a few

Senior Vice-Minister for Digital : First of all, thank you very much to all the members.

I think the last point, service of documents by publication, is quite an interesting point. As you pointed out earlier, the scope of disclosure was limited in some ways, such as submitting it to the court. If it is posted on the Internet because it has become technically possible, it will have a great impact. I think what to do about this is a very essential theme that must be discussed at the Local Council. The Ministry of Justice also talked about this quite honestly, so I think we also realized that there is such a point.

In that sense, I hope that we can overcome Issue together by listening to various Issue from each ministry on an honest basis and working out such cases as those proposed by many members today. Thank you very much for your continued support.

Deputy Chairman Annen: Thank you very much for , thank you very much. Even so, both the bankrupt and the adjudication of disappearance have already been listed in the digital version of official gazettes. There is such a fact.

Finally, the Secretariat will explain about the holding of the next Working Group meeting.

Secretariat (Osawa): The next Working Group meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 18. I believe that there are no matters that are inappropriate to be disclosed, so I will prepare the minutes later and disclose them after everyone checks them. In addition, if you do not have any particular objection to today's materials, all of them will be disclosed on the Digital Rincho website.

Deputy Chairman Annen: Thank you very much for . Well, everyone, thank you for your hard work. This concludes the fifth meeting. Thank you very much.