20 Years On, Japan Government's Digital Ambitions Still Stuck in Piles of Paper

While Tokyo has made "digital transformation" its main policy plank this year, the switch may not prove so easy.

20 Years On, Japan Government's Digital Ambitions Still Stuck in Piles of Paper

Photo Credit: Reuters / Toru Hanai

Parliament Building (bottom) is seen in front of office buildings of government ministries in Tokyo

Highlights
  • Lack of digital investment hampered productivity in Japan, analysts say
  • The problem stems from Japan's preference for paper documents
  • Less than 12 percent of administrative work is transacted online in Japan
Advertisement

Two decades after Japan rolled out an ambitious plan to go digital, the COVID-19 crisis has exposed the government's deeply rooted technological shortcomings as ministries remain stuck in a paper-driven culture that experts say is hurting productivity. While Tokyo has made "digital transformation" its main policy plank this year, the switch may not prove so easy as bureaucrats from different ministries still aren't able to hold teleconferences together and little of their administrative work can be done online.

Analysts say the lack of government digitalisation could reduce the incentive for the private sector to go digital in a blow to Japan's efforts to boost productivity.

"Lack of digital investment by the government has hampered productivity and efficiency at the private sector," said Takuya Hoshino, senior economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

In its mid-year policy strategy, the government vowed to accelerate digitalisation of its outdated administration, which has delayed delivery of cash payouts to help citizens weather the pandemic.

Much of the problem stems from Japan's preference for paper documents and seal for approval at government offices.

"Paper documents and seal are still prevalent. Politicians whom I deal with also prefer face-to-face meetings," a government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Adding to its digital troubles is Japan's vertically structured bureaucracy: each ministry as well as local governments, for instance, have developed their own computer systems that aren't compatible with each other.

Currently, each ministry has developed own its LAN network with various vendors, making it difficult to hold teleconference with each other because of differences in their on-line security policy, a Cabinet Office official in charge of IT strategy, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

In Japan, less than 12 percent of administrative work is transacted online, according to Japan Research Institute.

Overall, it could cost the government 323 million (32.3 crore) working hours per year if it doesn't go digital, translating into personnel costs of nearly $8 billion (roughly Rs. 5.98 lakh crores)  a government regulatory reform panel estimated in a report released in July last year.

The digital drawbacks give the lie to Japan's image as one of the world's leading high-tech nations - in fact, the world's third-biggest economy ranked 23rd among 63 countries, lagging behind some Asian nations like Singapore, South Korea and China in a survey by Swiss think tank IMD on digital competitiveness.

The last OECD Digital Economy Outlook put Japan at the lowest rank among 31 countries in on-line procedures, with just 5.4 percent of citizens utilising digital applications at public offices, way below Denmark, Estonia and Iceland at around 70 percent.

Seiji Kihara, a former Ministry of Finance official who now serves as ruling party's deputy policy chief, said young bureaucrats were running around with a pile of documents seeking bosses' seal for approval when he was there twenty years ago.

"They are doing pretty much the same now."

© Thomson Reuters 2020


Why do Indians love Xiaomi TVs so much? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Japan, Digital economy, Digitisation
iPhone 12 5.4-Inch Model Suggested by iOS 14 Developer Beta 3 Display Zoom Feature
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »