Digital Agency Annual Report

The Digital Agency has published its annual report to share the current state of digitalization in Japan and the agency's achievements over the past year (September 2023 - August 2024), using data-driven insights. The report aims to inform the public and stakeholders about the progress and direction of the agency's initiatives.

The agency's core mission is to create a "people-friendly digitalization" that leaves no one behind, aiming for a society where diverse happiness is achievable. The agency is positioned as a command center for Japan's digital transformation, working with the government, local authorities, and private businesses.

The Digital Agency aims to be a service provider, maximizing user experience through collaboration with various stakeholders, and to be an innovative government body, driving social reform through collaboration and learning.

The report emphasizes a user-centric approach, prioritizing the public good, actively questioning norms, and promoting collaboration and transparency. The Agency values iterative improvement and learning from both successes and failures.

1. Key Themes & Objectives

• Digital Transformation for Everyone: A core theme is ensuring that digitalization benefits all citizens, regardless of their circumstances. This involves making digital services accessible, user-friendly, and tailored to individual needs.
• Growth Strategy through Digitalization: The Digital Agency aims to boost the nation's productivity and competitiveness through digitalization. This includes digitizing quasi-public sectors (healthcare, education, disaster prevention, childcare), revitalizing local economies, and fostering digital talent.
• Secure and Robust Digital Infrastructure: Establishing a safe, reliable, and resilient digital infrastructure is a priority. This includes strengthening cybersecurity and optimizing government and local systems.
• The "Three Pillars" of Focus: The Agency organizes its efforts around three main areas, which are used to guide project prioritization and resource allocation, ensuring alignment with the Agency's overall objectives:
  • Providing User-Friendly Services: Focused on improving the experience for citizens, businesses, and government employees.
  • Promoting Growth Strategies: Focused on leveraging digitalization for economic and social development.
  • Ensuring Secure Infrastructure: Focused on building a robust and safe digital foundation for the country.

2. Key Achievements & Progress

• Increased Public Acceptance: Survey data shows an increase in public support for and adaptation to a digital society, though satisfaction with digital government services is still lower but improving.
• My Number Card Adoption: A significant achievement is the high adoption rate of My Number Cards, reaching 75% of the population. Linked services, such as My Number Insurance Cards and public fund accounts, have also seen double-digit growth.
• My Portal Utilization: The number of My Portal accounts has increased by 12%, with 52% of users reporting satisfaction. This portal is a key platform for online administrative procedures.
• Online Administrative Procedures: The percentage of municipalities offering online access to 26 child-rearing/nursing care procedures on My Portal is at 65.1%.
• Streamlined Processes: Information sharing through the My Number system has enabled the elimination of paper attachments for 2,588 administrative procedures.
• Digital Authentication App: The agency released a digital authentication app in June 2024 to facilitate secure and easy identity verification using My Number Cards.
• Standardization of Local Government Systems: Efforts are underway to standardize core systems of local governments to enhance efficiency and improve services.
• Public Service Mesh Development: Work is progressing on a "Public Service Mesh" to improve data sharing and collaboration between government entities, targeting implementation in 2025.
• Public Basic Information Database: The establishment of a "Public Basic Information Database" is being promoted to streamline procedures and eliminate the need to submit information repeatedly.
• Government Cloud: There's been a dramatic increase in the use of the government cloud, with 671 systems now utilizing the service, and 10 government agencies have adopted GSS (Government Solution Service).
• AI Utilization: The Digital Agency is actively exploring and implementing AI within its operations, with 42% of staff using generative AI for work, including use cases like public comment analysis, document labeling and code conversion.
• Regulatory Reform: Significant progress has been made in reviewing and revising "analog" regulations, with 4,365 items completed, facilitating the adoption of new technologies.

3. Areas of Focus and Future Plans

• Expanding My Number Card Uses: Continued efforts are planned to integrate My Number Cards with more services and functions, including smartphones and even drivers' licenses and medical cards. This will continue throughout the year into 2025.
• Enhanced Online Accessibility: Further improvements and new features are planned for My Portal, with a focus on ease of use and user-friendliness. They will also work on expanding private sector applications of My Portal APIs.
• Promoting Digital ID: Emphasis on expanding the use of digital identity verification through the Digital Authentication App, targeting both public and private sector integration.
• Data Utilization: Data utilization through Public Service Mesh and the Public Basic Information Database are focal areas for improvement in government administration and processes.
• Digital Transformation in Key Sectors: Continued focus on digitizing healthcare, education, and mobility services, with specific projects and timelines outlined.
• DFFT (Data Free Flow with Trust) Initiatives: Active participation in international frameworks and promotion of DFFT to ensure smooth international data flows.
• Strengthening Cybersecurity: Implementing a "security-by-design" approach, developing comprehensive monitoring systems, and collaborating with cybersecurity agencies.
• Disaster Prevention DX: Promotion of disaster prevention applications and data sharing to ensure proper support during emergencies.

4. Organizational Development

• Diverse Workforce: The Digital Agency emphasizes a balanced workforce with both public and private sector talent.
• Efficiency and Productivity: The agency is committed to streamlining operations and improving productivity with GSS terminals and time management applications.
• Transparency: The Agency is committed to transparency through publishing dashboards, project status reports and regular communication with the public.
• Employee Engagement: The Digital Agency actively seeks to engage its employees with surveys, regular meetings and values-based awards to create a strong work culture.
• Project Management: Emphasis on a strong project management framework for all IT development, ensuring quality, and regular reviews.
• Personal Information Protection: Increased personal information protection measures to further strengthen security, with specialized personnel, internal audits and enhanced staff training.

Conclusion

The Digital Agency's annual report highlights significant progress made towards a digitally advanced Japan. The report showcases that the agency is not only focusing on digitizing processes, but also creating a human-centered, inclusive digital society. Through its various initiatives, the agency aims to create a more efficient, convenient, and secure environment for all its citizens. They are also focused on making sure the public understands its progress and plans. The themes of collaboration, innovation, and a commitment to improvement are evident throughout the report, which establishes their goals for the coming years.

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