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1st Council for the Promotion of a Digital Society

Overview

  • Date and Time: Monday, September 6, 2021 (2021) from 14:30 to 14:50
  • Location: Main conference room on the 4th floor of the Prime Minister's Official Residence (online conference)
  • Agenda:
    1. Opening
    2. Proceedings
      1. New Promotion System
      2. Conference Management
      3. Holding of Executive Meeting, etc.
      4. How to proceed with digital reform in the future
    3. Adjournment

Materials

References

Minutes

Minister Hirai: , we will be holding a "Council for the Promotion of a Digital Society" from now.

Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to participate.

Let's get down to business. I would like to explain about documents 1 to 5.

First, please look at Handout 1.

It is about a new promotion system to promote digital reform.

On the left is the Promotion organization, which is composed of ministers and officials. The red frame is the Conference "Council for the Promotion of a Digital Society." As a reasons for setting of the Act for Establishment of the Digital Agency, the Conference will be chaired by the Prime Minister and composed of all Ministers. Below the Conference, we would like to establish an "Executive Board" composed of Director-General level officials, and below that, we would like to establish an "Associate Executive Board" composed of Deputy Director-General level officials.

On the right side is the organization for Consideration, which is composed of experts, etc. The red "digital society Concept Council" is a council body that comprehensively considers the formation of an ideal digital society for Priority plan, etc., which is to be formulated by the government pursuant to the provisions of the Basic Act on digital society Formation.

In addition, we would like to set up a organization to discuss individual themes such as data strategy and My Number System.

Next, Material 2 is the operation guidelines (draft) of this meeting, which specifies the publication of meeting materials and the disclosure of minutes.

Materials 3 and 4 provide for the holding of the Board of Directors, etc. just introduced.

Next, please see Handout 5.

I will explain how to proceed with the digital reform in the future.

Page 1 is the history so far.

In September last year, the Prime Minister gave instructions on the establishment of the Digital Agency, and at the end of the year, the Cabinet decided on the basic policies of the digital reform. Based on this, the relevant bills were submitted to the National Assembly in February this year and were enacted in May. After that, in June, the digital society was formulated in anticipation of the Priority plan based on the Basic Act on the Formation of the Priority plan, and the Digital Agency was inaugurated on September 1. I believe that we have been working with a sense of speed until now.

The second and subsequent pages summarize "Main items (proposals) in the current digital reform."

Please see page 2.

The first pillar is "promoting public service's digitalization for the people." As "public service's digitalization in emergencies such as measures against COVID-19," we will realize the acceleration of benefits and administrative processing in emergencies and the installation of a vaccination certificate on a smartphone.

In addition, as part of the "promotion of the use of My Number Card, etc.," we will realize the use of health insurance card in October this year, as well as the integration with driver's license card, etc. and the installation in smartphones.

Please see page 3.

As part of the "System Innovation in Kasumigaseki and local government," we will promote the standardization of government websites for the people, the standardization of the system in Kasumigaseki, and the unification and standardization of the system in Hokkaido.

Please see page 4.

The second pillar is the promotion of digitalization in areas closely related to people's lives, such as medical care, education, and disaster risk management, in other words, the promotion of digitalization in people's lives. Under the leadership of Digital Agency, we will draw an overall picture of digitalization in these areas, realize data connections that changes people's lives, and promote comprehensive data strategies.

Please see page 5.

The third pillar is "digitalization of the entire industry and the infrastructure that supports it" from the perspective of economic growth and the facilitation of social activities.

We will work to promote Beyond 5G in 5G and beyond, materialize strategies for semiconductors, develop digital infrastructure that will serve as the foundation for Minister in charge of Administrative Reform Okada, and strengthen digital human resource development.

Please see page 6.

The fourth pillar is "Realization of a digital society where no one is left behind."

We will work to improve consultation systems for ICT equipment and services, realize information barrier-free environments, and secure access points for citizens in municipalities.

Please see page 7.

We would like to further improve and strengthen the Priority plan for the realization of digital society, which was formulated in June, and formulate a new Priority plan by mid-to-late December this year.

In addition to incorporating the "Main Items (Proposals) for digital reform in the Near future" that I just explained, we will follow up on the Digital Government Action Plan in December last year and the Priority plan in June this year, and proceed with the digital society while listening to the opinions of experts at the "prioritization in planning Concept Conference." We would appreciate your cooperation.

That's all for my explanation.

Next, I would like to hear statements from members regarding the explanations so far.

First of all, from Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to Parliamentary Vice-Minister Miyaji, please.

Parliamentary Vice-Minister Miyaji: I am Mr. Miyaji, Parliamentary Secretary for Internal Affairs and Communications of . I will make a statement on behalf of Mr. Takeda today.

Under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Suga and under his leadership, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has been working on the promotion of application and Issue for the further spread of My Number Card, as well as the standardization and standardization of local government information systems.

In addition, we will work to realize digital society through policies such as infrastructure development such as 5G, Beyond 5G research development, regional location of data centers and internet exchange, and promotion of digital utilization support for the elderly.

That's all.

Minister Hirai: , next, Minister Kamikawa, please.

Minister: 's legal administration and judicial administration are the very foundation of people's lives, and digitalization from the perspective of users is an urgent Issue. In cooperation with Digital Agency, MOJ will build a strong promotion system, including the promotion of specialization-based recuruitment, and will swiftly realize digitalization.

That's all.

Minister Hirai: , next, Minister Hagyuda, please.

Minister Hagyuda: In cooperation with Digital Agency, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of will actively work toward the formation of digital society, including the promotion of digitalization in the education field, including the GIGA School, and digital transformation for research, as well as human resource development to support the promotion of digitalization.

However, in order to advance these efforts, I think it is necessary to develop universal environments that can be accessed from anywhere in the country. As you can see in the materials, it is often said that since terminals are distributed to elementary and junior high school students in GIGA School, online classes will be possible. However, communication environments differ greatly depending on the local government, and there are many local government that cannot be handled without lending a router. Now that Digital Agency has been established, I would like to move forward together with you with such a determination to create a Wi-Fi-free country in promoting digitalization of life.

Minister Hirai: .

Next, Minister Tamura, please.

Minister Tamura: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is responsible for many businesses that are directly linked to the lives of the people. We will make efforts to improve the convenience of the people, such as further promoting environmental improvement during the intensive introduction period from July to September, in order to spread the use of insurance cards in My Number Card.

That's all.

Minister Hirai: , next, Minister Kajiyama, please.

Minister Kajiyama: The realization of the digital society is a driving force for the Japanese economy to continue to grow strongly in the future, and the Digital Agency has been launched as a strong driving force. It is now necessary to accelerate the digital transformation of society as a whole, including the promotion of the digitalization of private sector, and I expect strong leadership from Digital Agency.

In particular, in order to promote industrial digital reform, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will promote the development of 5G and data centers that will serve as the foundation to support digitalization, promote the location of advanced semiconductor manufacturing bases, and create a mechanism to create new businesses using public and private data.

That's all.

Minister Hirai: , next, Minister Tanahashi, please.

Minister Tanahashi: First of all, I would like to make a statement as Chairperson of the National Public Safety Commission of .

The police are developing a common platform for integrating various systems and integrating driver's license card and My Number Card. In addition, the police are preparing to establish the Cyber Bureau of the National Police Agency to ensure the security of cyberspace.

Next, I will make a statement as Minister in Charge of disaster risk management.

In the disaster risk management field, we will actively work on the development of disaster risk management, including a new comprehensive data exchange platform for xxxx information system.

That's all.

Minister Hirai: , Minister Kono, please.

Minister Kono: Advancing the digitalization of administration will create new value, such as simplifying procedures, providing new public service that will be realized in data connections, and providing services that will be pushed to people who need support and information from the side of the administration. To date, we have advanced reforms on an unprecedented scale in a short period of time, such as abolishing 99% of the obligation to affix a seal and moving 98% of the obligation to create and submit documents online. However, there are still many procedures that have been reported to be unable to be made online. Such validation are still in the middle of the road. Coupled with the promotion of digitalization, we need to further advance regulatory reform and administrative reform.

I will make further efforts through regulatory reform and administrative reform so that the people of Japan can feel that the world has certainly changed, that society has become more convenient, that it has become easier to start businesses, and that it has become easier to live.

That's all.

Minister Hirai: , Minister Nishimura, please.

Minister Nishimura: We will take concrete steps to realize our growth strategy, including establishing production bases for advanced semiconductors and next-generation data centers.

In addition, at the TPP Ministerial Committee meeting on September 1, it was decided to establish a subcommittee on electronic commerce. We will also work on the formation of global rules in the digital field.

In addition, as part of the measures against COVID-19, we hope that a common nationwide platform for proof of vaccination and proof of negative test will be established, and the unified operation of the system will advance. Thank you.

Minister Hirai: : Next, Minister Marukawa, please.

Minister : Based on the next cybersecurity Strategic Plan that is currently under consideration, we will advance the securing of cybersecurity in conjunction with digital reform. In addition, the need to develop female digital human resources is shared internationally, and we will support local local government through Issue Kin.

That's all.

Minister Hirai: Next, Minister Inoue, please.

Minister: In order to form a digital society, it is particularly important to promote the distribution and utilization of data. We will continue to work on research development, etc., on the basis of effectively linking and utilizing data in various fields in charge, such as science and technology policies, health and medical care strategies, and intellectual property strategies. In addition, we will promote efforts such as the formulation of guidance in order to develop the necessary data-handling rules to promote data distribution. In addition, we will promote administrative digitalization in each field in charge, such as public document management and consumer administration.

That's all.

Minister Hirai:

Do you have any other comments?

So, is it correct to understand that you have approved of Materials 2 to 4 and how to proceed with Material 5?

(SAYS NO OBJECTION)

Minister Hirai: .

Then, I would like to ask for a greeting from the Prime Minister at the end, so please put in a press. Please wait for a while.

(Entry of Press Personnel)

Minister Hirai: Now, at the closing of the meeting, I would like to receive an address from the Chair, Prime Minister Suga.

Prime Minister Suga: Today, we held the first "Digital Agency" since the establishment of Council for the Promotion of a Digital Society, and discussed the "New Priority plan" which will be the overall strategy.

With this in mind, we established Digital Agency on September 1. Under the leadership of Digital Agency, we will thoroughly implement the digital reform of society as a whole. We must take the plunge and advance digitalization.

First, digitalization in public service.

In one smartphone, all procedures, including moving procedures, can be done online without going to public office. benefit from the country can be transferred without application. We will create such a society. For this purpose, we will promote the unification and standardization of the disparate systems of local government and the spread of My Number Card.

The second is the digitalization of our lives.

In online medical consultation, etc., daily life has become convenient, and even if you are in the countryside, you can live as well as in the city. We will review the digitalization and systems such as medical care, education, disaster risk management, and payment.

Third is the digitalization of industry.

We will create new businesses and generate employment and investment, such as widely sharing basic data of public institutions.

Finally, it is a response to the digital divide.

With the philosophy of "leaving no one behind," we provide support to people with disabilities and the elderly.

I would like to ask the relevant ministers to formulate a "New Priority plan" by the end of the year and steadily achieve results, without getting stuck in a vertical structure.

Minister Hirai: .

Then, please leave the press.

(Departure of Press Personnel)

Minister Hirai: , I would like to conclude today's "Council for the Promotion of a Digital Society" session. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule.