Liaison meeting of related ministries and agencies related to the digitalization of business operators (1st meeting)

Overview

Date and time: Thursday, November 30, 2023, from 3:00 to 3:45 p.m.
Location: Online
Agenda:
1. Opening
2. Proceedings
  1. Holding of the "Liaison Conference of Relevant Ministries and Agencies, etc. Related to digitalization, etc. of Business Operators"
  2. Promotion of digitalization by business operators, etc.
  3. Promotion of digitalization of Public Procedures, etc.
3. Adjournment

Materials

Minutes, etc.

Members present

Chairman

Tomoya Hasui (Deputy Director General of Strategy & Organization Group, Digital Agency)

Members

Royo NAKAJIMA (Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Assistant to the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary))
Hiroshi Yoshida Hei (Deputy Director General of the Secretariat of the Cabinet Secretariat Digital Administration and Finance Reform Council)
Seiichi Ito (Deputy Director-General for cybersecurity and Information Technology)
Shigeyuki Tani (Director General of the National Police Agency)
*Representative: Ayumi Shiono (Deputy Director of the Planning Division, Director-General's Secretariat, National Police Agency)
Yu Ozaki (Deputy Director General, Supervisory Bureau, Financial Services Agency
Reiko Kondo (Director of the Planning Division, Minister's Secretariat, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications)
Koichi Nakamura (Deputy Director General for cybersecurity and Computerization of the Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice
Takao Imabuku (Counsellor for cybersecurity and Information Technology, MOFA)
*Representative: Mitsue Morita (Director of the Information and Communications Division, Minister's Secretariat
Toshio Uematsu (Ministry of Finance, Deputy Director General of the National Tax Agency)
Hironori Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) (Director-General for Policy Coordination of Minister's Secretariat Toyooka)
Kazuhiro Mita (cybersecurity Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Deputy Director-General for Information)
Hideto Sugaya (Deputy Director-General for cybersecurity and Information Technology, Ministry of
Tomohiro Ushiyama, Deputy Director-General of the Information and Communications Policy Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (in charge of IT strategies)
Tetsuya Matsuura (Executive Director of the Management Support Department of the Small and
Hirohide Okamoto (Deputy Director General for cybersecurity and Information, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and
Yoichi KAMIYA (Deputy Director-General for cybersecurity and Information Technology, Secretariat of the Ministry of
Motoyuki NAKANISHI (Deputy Minister for cybersecurity and Information Technology, Ministry of Defense)
*Attendance on behalf of: Loran black soybean liqueur YOSHIDA (Counselor to the Minister of Defense)
UEGUCHI Hiroshi (Director of the Bank of Japan Business Bureau)

Minutes

Mr. Hasui: Director General Tomiyasu Now that it is time, I would like to open the first "Meeting of the Liaison of Relevant Ministries and Agencies on digitalization, etc. of Businesses."

My name is Hasui from Digital Agency, and I will be facilitating the meeting. Nice to meet you.

As for today's meeting, all members are participating online. Thank you very much for attending.

In addition, Minister Kono is also scheduled to attend the meeting today. He will be attending the meeting in the middle of the meeting and is scheduled to leave the meeting in the middle of the meeting.

Let's get down to business.

Today's agenda is scheduled to consist of three parts: the first is "Holding of the' Liaison Conference of Relevant Ministries and Agencies on the digitalization of Business Operators, etc.'", the second is "Promotion of digitalization of Business Offices, etc.", and the third is "Promotion of digitalization of Public Procedures, etc.".

First of all, I would like to explain the first item on the agenda, "Holding of the' Liaison Conference of Relevant Ministries and Agencies on the digitalization of Business Operators, etc.'" based on Material 3.

On page 2, the purpose of the establishment is written here. The first Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reform Conference was held on October 11, 2023, and we are working to promote an integrated private sector of public institutions and the digital completion region, including tax, accounting, and transactions.

In addition, with the same intention, the Comprehensive Economic Measures for Complete Eradication of Deflation will also aim to promote DX of tax administration and digitalization of business operators in order to promote an integrated digitalization of the public and private sectors, including tax, accounting, and transactions.

Based on this, we would like to hold this Liaison Conference in order to accelerate efforts and deepen cooperation among related ministries and agencies regarding the digitalization of business operators and the digitalization of public procedures.

The two main pillars I just mentioned were the promotion of digitalization for business operators and others through cooperation among relevant ministries and agencies, and the promotion of digitalization for public procedures and others through cooperation among relevant ministries and agencies.

Through these efforts, we aim to achieve efficiency and sophistication in the management of business operators, as well as improvements in productivity through Promotion of DX of society as a whole, including area.

On the next page, I am assuming the schedule of the meeting for the time being. In the first session, regarding digitalization of business operators in Theme I, I would like to share the direction of efforts and related measures with relevant ministries and agencies. Regarding digitalization of business operators in Theme II, I would like to ask relevant ministries and agencies about Okinawa of public procedures, etc., so I would like to explain it later.

Regarding the situation, we would like to hold another meeting around December if possible, and regarding Theme I, we would like to consider a framework and initiatives to promote the digitalization of business operators in area in cooperation with related ministries and agencies. Regarding the second theme, we would like to receive a report on the status of response to the request for cooperation, if possible. We would like to report on this content to the Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reform Council.

Furthermore, even after January, I believe that various Issue will emerge as part of these efforts, and we have actually received consultations from some ministries and agencies. I would like to proceed with the meeting based on your proposals, including these.

On the next page, in terms of the image of promoting digitalization for business operators, as a direction, we would like to develop environments in which business operators can make use of various cloud tools, including accounting software and forms management tools such as invoices, spread cashless payments, promote the introduction of Peppol e-invoice, and from a medium - to long-term perspective, make consistent digitalization for a series of business processes from transactions to accounting, tax filing, and tax payment.

On the other hand, with regard to digitalization of public procedures, etc., as for the direction of our efforts, on page 4, we would like to promote convenience of public procedures through cooperation and collaboration between relevant ministries and agencies from the perspective of promoting DX for society as a whole, as well as efficiency of users and digitalization of public and private affairs. We would like to discuss here the cooperation of relevant ministries and agencies in promoting digitalization of public procedures for business operators and reducing the burden on business operators for public procurement and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Based on that, returning to document 1, I would like to summarize the purpose of the agreement I just mentioned regarding the holding of the Inter-Ministerial Liaison Meeting.

This is the end of my explanation. However, if there are any particular points or opinions from the members, I would like to ask you. Is there anything you would like to ask?

Is it particularly convenient for you? Then, we would like to proceed in this way, so we would like to ask for your cooperation.

Then, I would like to receive an address from Director-General Sakada of the Secretariat of the Cabinet Secretariat Digital Administration and Fiscal Reform Council. Director-General Sakada, nice to meet you.

Secretariat of the Cabinet Secretariat's Digital Administration and Fiscal Reform Council (Director-General Sakada): I am Sakada, Secretary-General of the Digital Administration and Fiscal Reform Council. Thank you all for coming today.

As stated, the Conference on Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reform has been launched with the aim of efficiency administrative and fiscal affairs using various digital technologies in order to counter Issue, which is a major social theme of population decline.

In particular, the efficiency of administration, which is the infrastructure for society, transactions, and economic activities, contributes to the efficiency of the private sector economy, and I believe that one of the very major pillars of the reform efforts this time is to contribute to improving the productivity of the private sector economy through digital administrative and fiscal reform.

In that sense, I have heard that the Digi-cho and the National Tax Administration Agency will make presentations today. I hope that the Cabinet Office and each Ministry will work together well to achieve results in digital administrative and fiscal reform that will be useful for economic activities in private sector. The Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reform Council will play up the results that have been achieved. I would like to thank you very much for your discussions today.

Mr. Hasui: Director General Tomiyasu Sakada, thank you very much.

Next, I would like to receive a greeting from Minister Kono here.
Nice to meet you, Minister Kono.

Minister for Digital Transformation Kono: Thank you very much for coming today, despite your busy schedule. In addition, I would like to once again express my gratitude for the steady efforts being made by the Cabinet Office and each Ministry regarding digital administrative and fiscal reform.

Due to declining birthrate and aging population and the declining population, Japan is facing a serious labor shortage in various fields. In order to achieve sustainable development, it is essential to realize social change by boldly reforming administrative and fiscal policies from the user's perspective and from the user's perspective, by making the most of digital technology. Based on this awareness, I would like to advance initiatives for digital administrative and fiscal reform.

As one of the basic concepts of digital administrative and fiscal reform, I think it is important to speed up the unification and standardization of national and local Digital infrastructure and to make it possible to provide various public service at low cost. To this end, we would like to further enhance the effect by promoting DX by business operators, in addition to working on DX by the government and local government.

To be more specific, by promoting the introduction of cloud service, cashless payments, and Peppol e-invoice for accounting software, etc., I think we need to create an environment in which a series of business processes, from transactions to accounting, tax filing, and tax payment, can be digital completion. By promoting digitalization of public procedures, for example, it will be possible to realize "tax returns without writing" by linking employment income information with Mynaportal. By extension, I think it will lead to efficiency of business management, improvement of productivity, and DX of society as a whole.

I would like all concerned ministries and agencies to recognize that the DX of the industry and business operators themselves is essential for the government to work as one, such as making various procedures online and providing digital authentication, and to steadily achieve results. On that basis, I would like all of you to make every effort to promote the DX of the business operators under your jurisdiction, making use of the power of local departments as well as the Ministry, so that the people of Japan can feel the benefits of digitalization as soon as possible.

In the Autumn Review, you pointed out that it is important to collect data so that we can make a validation of the results. For example, we ask each company to take a gBizID, use a jGrants, and apply for various benefits and subsidies. Then, we ask them to input the necessary data into it, and the ministries and agencies can analyze it properly. I believe that we must make such efforts without waiting any longer. So, I would like to introduce various efforts today, and I would like to receive proactive proposals from each ministry and agency on themes that related ministries and agencies should work together on. In addition, regarding DX of business operators, I would like to ask for your cooperation in each industry under your jurisdiction.

Mr. Hasui: Director General Tomiyasu .

Now, I would like to move on to Agenda 2, "Promotion of digitalization for Business Operators, etc.".
This time, Digital Agency and the National Tax Administration Agency will explain each other.

First of all, I would like to explain about Digital Agency.

Please go back to Material 3, which I mentioned earlier, and on page 3, there is a (draft) of specific examples of efforts.

I believe Mr. Uematsu will discuss the details, so I would like to briefly talk about the second specific example (draft) of our efforts. As you have just mentioned, I would like to consider conducting various public relations activities to collectively publicize the significance of digitalization a series of business operations of business operators such as transactions, accounting, and taxation, the benefits of using various cloud tools, and subsidies for them.

In addition, please refer to the reference materials cooperated by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency. In terms of IT introduction subsidies for the introduction of IT tools, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises, in addition to the usual support for the introduction cost of IT tools, we are providing support for the introduction of infrastructure in digitalization, responding to bulk invoices for commercial distribution, cooperating with multiple companies, or increasing the menu in security. I believe that this has already been implemented in the supplementary budget for fiscal 2022, etc., and I have heard that this will be carefully implemented.

The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency has created such a pamphlet as a PR for business operators, but I believe that it is possible to consider not only this, but also various support tools, especially for local people, in cooperation with ministries and agencies.

As you mentioned in your materials, for example, we would like to publicize the business efficiency such as billing and settlement services using peppol in Peppol e-invoice, ZEDI, and the EDI system of the Japanese Bankers Association (JBA), which will significantly reduce costs and save time.

In addition, in cooperation with financial institutions and area economic organizations, we will encourage cashless payment of national and local taxes, etc., and promote cashless payment and payment through public-private cooperation. As for the content of this, I would like to start by building a framework in which relevant ministries and agencies, including local branch offices, as well as people related to area and digitalization, will work together to promote area-wide payment by businesses in local government, which is the fourth point in particular. private sector

In the course of these efforts, I believe there will be various Issue depending on the area. For example, I have heard that there is an extreme shortage of human resources. I believe we must consider how to respond going forward.

This is all from Digital Agency. I would like to ask Mr. Uematsu, Deputy Director-General of the National Tax Administration Agency, for an explanation.

National Tax Agency (Deputy Director-General, Uematsu): National Tax Agency.

Thank you for giving us this opportunity today.

Then, based on Material 4, I would like to explain the status of discussions and initiatives related to tax system by business operators in tax matters and digitalization matters.

Please refer to page 2 of the document.

First of all, regarding the trend of international discussions, as you can see at the top, the OECD Tax Administration 3.0 was published in 2020. It shows the concept of the future tax administration as shown in the box.

Based on the idea that taxation is incorporated into the daily operations of taxpayers, accurate tax payment without burden will be made possible through cooperation with the business systems that taxpayers use on a daily basis.

As a result, it is our view that non-compliance and misconduct will converge on matters that are intentional and require time and effort.

As a basis for this, as shown in ○ below, the viewpoint of the secured chain approach is shown in the OECD's Tax Compliance by design.

As you can see in the box, the main idea behind the secured chain approach is to secure the flow of information from the acquisition of a business transaction to the final determination of the correct tax amount.

In this context, the role of the revenue agency is mainly to confirm that the flow of information related to the taxpayer's own taxable transactions is sufficiently secure, and to promote the functions necessary for the environment.

In addition, taxpayers will be able to meet their reporting obligations at less cost and with less inconvenience, and benefit from reduced compliance burdens.
If you look at the next page, this is an image of the future direction shown in the study group of the Tax Bureau in Ministry of Finance.

As shown in the red frame, the idea is to use data to connect transaction data, settlement data, processing within the business office in the middle, and tax procedures on the right.

On the other hand, as stated below, it is the idea that tax accountants and tax authorities play the necessary roles.

Please see the next four pages.

Based on these developments, the National Tax Administration Agency is also working on the digitalization of business operators.

As shown in the upper frame, by promoting digitalization of economic transactions and business operations in addition to digitalization of tax procedures, there are advantages such as improved accuracy due to the prevention of simple errors and improved productivity due to efficiency of office work. As shown in the middle picture, it shows that ordering, delivery, and billing, as well as payment and deposit, and tax declaration and payment are connected by data.

Among them, peppol, which you introduced earlier, and Zengin EDI (ZEDI) are shown as tools.

In addition, the lower part summarizes the current measures for each phase.
Please see the next page.

What I have mentioned so far is the medium - to long-term direction, but I believe that it is also important to advance digitalization from the ground in accordance with the actual conditions of business operators.

For example, as you can see in the box above, in recent years, amid the progress of digitalization, the development of cloud accounting software has made it possible to easily book entries without taking time and money.

The picture below is an excerpt from the explanatory material of the New Economy Federation. Conventional bookkeeping involves the risk of human error due to manual work, and monthly settlement of accounts sometimes takes two months. However, the right side using cloud accounting software shows that data from input to journal entry can be integrated at once, and time can be spent on analysis work for management.

Please see the next page.

This is an extract from the materials explained by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Government Tax Commission.

This is an example of a tofu store. It has been reported that a tofu store has succeeded in reducing the time required for sales accounting and other administrative processing by 600 hours per year by introducing cloud accounting.

As you can see in the upper part of the picture, in the conventional bookkeeping operations, manual input and correction, and paper storage were necessary, but after the introduction of cloud accounting software, data can be automatically imported and journal entries can be made, and from the viewpoint of business operators, it is sufficient to confirm the contents, and furthermore, the actual condition of the business can be understood. In addition, paper storage has become unnecessary.

Please see the last seven pages.

Based on this, we believe that the National Tax Administration Agency will be able to improve the accuracy of public procedures and increase productivity by comprehensively promoting not only the digitalization of tax procedures but also the digitalization of business and the digitalization of economic transactions.

However, I believe that it is important to cooperate with relevant ministries and agencies as well as relevant private sector organizations.

From this perspective, I hope that the Conference of Relevant Ministries and Agencies will also advance efforts. Thank you very much.

Mr. Hasui: Director General Tomiyasu .

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments on the explanation so far. What do you think?

Next, I would like to move on to Agenda 3, "Promotion of digitalization of Public Procedures." This time, Digital Agency and the National Tax Agency will also provide explanations.
First, I would like to start with Digital Agency. Please take a look at page 4 of Handout 3.

This is a draft image of the promotion of digitalization of official procedures, but it describes specific examples of efforts.

2. I believe that the National Tax Administration Agency will explain the upper part of the specific examples of these initiatives later. As you just introduced, digitalization is underway regarding Mynaportal cooperation on employment income information, tax returns that are not written down, year-end adjustments, and so on. The lower part includes the perspective of how to further promote the spread of administrative procedure bases for business operators, how to further connect DX for public demand procedures, especially for payment, and how to promote the digitalization of credit guarantee procedures, which was intended to be implemented during the novel coronavirus pandemic, and the facilitation of finance and the development of an environment for detailed responses to business operators. Of these, Digital Agency would like to explain the spread of administrative procedure bases for business operators.

So, Mr. Yoshida, Planning Officer and Mr. Toki, Product Manager, nice to meet you.

Planning Officer Yoshida: As you just introduced me, I am Mr. Yoshida, Planning Officer of Digital Agency.
I would like to explain the procedural infrastructure for business operators that we are promoting in Digital Agency and ask you about the survey related to it.

Then, I will explain it in this document. The former Working Group of the Digital Rincho is also a Business Procedures Task Force, and we will promote the overall development of business procedures systems in the future.

In this regard, we would like to organize the electronic parts being promoted by each ministry and agency, what kind of common functions will be created for use, and how the experience of use will be organized in Digital Agency.

In particular, Digital Agency is developing common functions that can be used by ministries and agencies when creating administrative procedure services.

In particular, as you mentioned, gBizID, which I would like to introduce this time, is a service that allows business operators to log in, but its use is still limited.

We would like to create an infrastructure in which such common authentication and signature services can be used in common by ministries and agencies, and we would also like to develop environments in which such services can be used not only for administrative procedures but also for private sector procedures in the future.
In fact, in gBizID, there are currently 1.06 million companies, including corporations and sole proprietorships, that use the system.

In addition, it is used not only by each public authorities and country, but also by local government, the Japan Finance Corporation, and other external organizations.

In cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the Commercial Registration gBizID will be renovated in the future, and we would like to develop this E-Certificate into a service that we can cooperate with.

On the other hand, if these common services are introduced in each system, the burden of procedures for operators will be reduced.

For example, in the area of certification, it will be more convenient for each business operator if it becomes possible to carry out various procedures for business operators with just one gBizID accounts.

However, in order to realize this, I would like to ask for your cooperation in investigating the current state of digitization in the same way as we have investigated the current state of the procedure systems of each ministry and agency and whether the procedures themselves are actually computerized.

I would like to contact you again about how to proceed and the schedule, but today I would like to discuss how we would like to proceed.

In the past, when investigating administrative procedures, we used to do it in an Excel-based and extremely time-consuming manner.

We are digitalization the survey tool to make it easier to conduct the survey by development the survey method itself.

If you use this, if you actually ask people in the original section to directly enter it, I think you can realize a form in which you can make a visualization of how much it is included.
The benefits are expected to be a reduction in the burden of entering information, visualization of online status, and efficiency of support from digitalization.

We are development such a tool, and we would like to conduct a survey including the online status of subsidy applications.

From here, I would like to demonstrate this tool from Toki.

Toki: I'm Toki from Product Manager Digital Agency.

I would like to give you a brief demonstration.

Although this is still under development and is not the main event, as Mr. Yoichi Yoshida, Director-General of the Policy Planning Department, has just explained, we would like to prepare a website where people in charge at each ministry and agency can directly input information.

From this website, administrative procedures will be input on the screen. In terms of data, we are thinking of inputting information from inventory surveys conducted from Fiscal Year R2 to Fiscal Year 3 and cross-sectional surveys conducted on a regular basis after that, and updating the data based on that.

Actually, we are thinking of a UI that allows easy input in the form of a single sheet, and in terms of input efficiency, for example, we are also thinking of a UI that allows you to update the implementation status directly from the list.

In addition, we would like to fully understand whether gBizID can be used in each system, and we would like to hear your opinions and requests about Digital Agency. We would like to conduct a survey on the system, and we would like to ask you to input information on subsidies so that we can use jGrants.

In the end, we will make it into a dashboard, and the information directly input can be reflected in real time, so we would like each ministries and agencies to see this, so that they can understand the online status of their ministries and agencies and the status of subsidies.

That's all from me.

Mr. Hasui: Director General Tomiyasu .
Next, Mr. Uematsu, Deputy Director-General of the National Tax Agency, please explain.

National Tax Agency (Deputy Director-General, Uematsu): This time, regarding Attachment 6, the National Tax Agency would like to make four points regarding the promotion of digitalization of public procedures.

First of all, regarding the first point, "Promotion of Mynaportal Cooperation on Employment Income Information," as you can see on page 3, when filing a final tax return using e-Tax, we are realizing automatic input into the final tax return by incorporating the information linked to private sector from government agencies and Mynaportal companies into the final tax return preparation corner.

As shown on the right, the scope of automatic input is expanding year by year, and we have already dealt with the Benefit-Your-Locality Hometown Tax and medical care expenses, etc., and from February next year, we will also deal with the tax withholding slips of employment income.
Regarding the next slide 4, in fact, when we look at the current situation of final tax returns, as shown in (1), more than half of the people who file final tax returns, or 56.1%, are salaried workers.

In the case of employment income earners, it is usually settled through the year-end tax adjustment, so I believe that there are a certain number of people who have filed final tax returns, such as Benefit-Your-Locality Hometown Tax or tax refunds due to medical care expense deductions.

As I mentioned earlier, Benefit-Your-Locality Hometown Tax and medical care expenses are already subject to automatic input. Due to the automatic input of employment income information that will start in February 2024, I believe that convenience will be greatly improved, and some people will be able to file a final tax return using e-Tax almost just by clicking.

On the other hand, with regard to the Mynaportal cooperation of employment income information this time, it is necessary for the business operator to submit the tax withholding slips of the employees to the national tax authority by e-Tax, and the cooperation of the business operator is essential.

So far, the National Tax Administration Agency has provided explanations to large organizations such as the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), and they have given positive evaluations. However, I believe that it would be better to disseminate information in a more detailed manner and request cooperation.

Therefore, as an immediate response, I would like to ask each ministry and agency to carefully respond to the business organizations under their jurisdiction, such as issuing a notice in joint signatures with the National Tax Administration Agency calling on member business operators to submit the tax withholding slips e-Tax, or holding a briefing session.

At the same time, I would like to call for cooperation with Mynaportal and the use of e-Tax for final tax returns in My Number Card.
My second question is about the expansion of business operators cooperating with Mynaportal.

Regarding slide 6, for example, we are promoting digitization in the process of year-end tax adjustment.

From October of this year, all the main certificates that need to be attached for the year-end adjustment can be submitted in data.

By promoting computerization and digitalization, we believe that there are advantages for both business owners and employees. On the other hand, many companies that issue tax deduction certificates, such as life insurance companies and non-life insurance companies, respond to Mynaportal cooperation, but as you can see below, some do not.

In order to proceed with the efficiency of the year-end tax adjustment, it is necessary to expand the number of companies that can handle it, and we believe that the convenience of filing a final tax return by e-Tax will be improved by expanding the number of companies that can handle it.

Therefore, as for the immediate response plan in the blue part in the middle, I would like to see the relevant ministries and agencies issue a notice jointly with the National Tax Administration Agency to call on the industry organizations under their jurisdiction to which the issuers of tax exemption certificates, etc. belong to take measures in cooperation with Mynaportal, or hold a briefing session.

At the same time, we need to make sure that people are aware of the fact that they can make a digitalization for year-end tax adjustment procedures, so we would like to encourage them to digitize their procedures.

The third point is "Promotion of automation of attachment of tax payment information in applications."

If you look at slide 8, at present, about 1.7 million tax payment certificates are issued annually at tax offices throughout Japan.

Although we charge a handling fee of approximately 400 yen, a certificate of tax payment may be required, for example, in the case of an application for participation in a bid. Based on this, from January 2023, in the second square above, for application procedures that require the attachment of a certificate of tax payment, we will have the system connected to the National Tax Administration Agency's system at the back office, and when the procedures are performed online, tax payment information can be automatically obtained without a fee instead of a certificate of tax payment and submitted to the applicant. We are constructing and operating such a system.
On the other hand, in order for the applicant to use this mechanism, it is necessary to have the people who own the application system, such as related ministries and agencies, local government, and financial institutions, cooperate with the system.

Currently, such cooperation is already possible with the Digital Agency procurement Portal, which is an application system that can be used in the lower right corner, and the Construction Business License and Business Matter Examination online application System of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. However, as stated in the immediate response plan, we would like other related ministries and agencies that have such systems to consider whether or not to modify the application system that requires tax payment information and the timing of the response.

At the same time, we would like to ask the relevant ministries and agencies to call on the local local government and financial institutions that have similar systems to cooperate with the system.
My fourth and final question is about the expansion of online deposit and savings inquiries.
On the last slide, page 10, inquiries about deposits and savings are made to financial institutions for the purpose of property investigation, etc. based on law.

Such inquiries can now be made online. As shown in the second square, this online inquiry has advantages for both the financial institutions and the public authorities side.

If you look at (1) in the chart below, the percentage of deposit and savings inquiries from public authorities is shown. There are about 60 million inquiries a year, but most of them are made in local social security measures such as local taxes, public assistance, national health insurance, and long-term care insurance.

In that case, from the financial institutions' point of view, even if only the national tax is inquired online, it will not lead to the local government as a whole unless the local efficiency side does such a thing.

On the other hand, from the perspective of a local local government, if local financial institutions do not participate in the online system, the benefits of going online cannot be felt. Therefore, in order to achieve efficiency as a whole, we believe that it is necessary to expand the system in line with the participation of financial institutions and the local local government.

Therefore, as an immediate response, we would like to ask relevant ministries and agencies to make efforts to encourage financial institutions to respond to online inquiries, and to make efforts to encourage local local government governments to use online inquiries.

With regard to the above four points, I would like to discuss the details at the working-level, but I would like to ask for the cooperation of the relevant ministries and agencies.
That's all from me.

Mr. Hasui: Director General Tomiyasu .

If you have any comments or questions about the above explanation, please let us know.

With regard to the request from the National Tax Administration Agency, we would like to proceed in this direction, and we would like to ask for the cooperation of the relevant ministries and agencies.

That concludes today's agenda. Thank you very much, everyone.

Finally, Mr. Tomiyasu, Managing Director of the Digital Agency Strategic organization Group, would like to say a few words.
Mr. Tomiyasu, nice to meet you.

Director-General Tomiyasu: Today, I would like to thank you for taking the time to attend the first Liaison Conference of Relevant Ministries and Agencies on digitalization and Other Business Operators.

We have been promoting online digital procedures and DX in various ways, but in order to make it productive, I believe that promoting DX by business operators and the industry will increase synergies and results. Thank you very much.

I would like to take a moment to give you an example. Yesterday in Digital Agency, we were creating an API for law Database, and we held a hackathon. We invited ideas to create various systems by using law Database.

There were works such as disseminating information about law, creating quizzes on law, and making it easier to search, but as a request from the business community, there happened to be two works related to the building industry that automatically adapt construction data and building data to all law, such as the Building Standards Act, and determine whether or not they conform. I have heard a lot about this, and I heard that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been promoting DX in the construction industry, and data conversion within the industry has advanced, and if data conversion of law advances, there is a need for a match, a synergistic effect, and a relationship with law can be made digitally.

If the ministries and agencies concerned promote the digitalization of the industries and business operators under their respective jurisdictions in this way, I believe that what we are doing will be more effective and will synergistically advance the digitalization of Japanese society as a whole. I believe that you are doing a lot on a daily basis, but I would like to take this meeting as an opportunity to further advance the process. I would appreciate your cooperation.

Mr. Hasui: Director General Tomiyasu , thank you very much.

In conclusion, regarding the schedule of the next meeting, we would like to hold it in December, so the secretariat will contact you later.

That's all for now. Thank you very much for taking the time to attend today.