Yoshihiro Hirakawa
National Strategy Office of IT, Cabinet Secretariat of Japan

The national government has submitted bills related to digital transformation to this year's ordinary session of the Diet. At the time of this writing (April 7), the bills would be amid deliberations in the Diet.

This article will briefly review the background of the digital transformation, especially in terms of its impacts on people with disabilities, and introduce the related legislation currently under discussion.

Please note that the contents of this article are all the author's personal views and do not represent the official views of the Cabinet Secretariat.

1.The need to consider digital transformation

The recent response to COVID-19 has revealed various issues such as administrative information systems have not been built on the premise of safety, ease, and access from the people's perspective. Also, uncovered is inefficient data use due to different information systems and operational processes between the national and local governments. Moreover, it is still fresh in our minds that the process from application to disbursement of Special Cash Payment was not properly digitized, resulting in delays in disbursements. Furthermore, a variety of digitization and digitalization issues have become apparent, including delays in the digitalization of the private sector and society as a whole.

At the "Ministerial Meeting on Digital Transformation" held on September 23 of last year, it was decided that a Digital Agency be established as a breakthrough to bureaucratic sectionalism and bold regulatory reform to fundamentally resolve these issues. The Meeting also decided to review the so-called IT Basic Act or the "Basic Act on the Formation of an Advanced Information and Telecommunications Network Society, " a critical bill in the digital sector.

2.The progress of digital transformation discussion

The government set up the Working Group on Digital Transformation Related Bills (henceforth referred to as "WG") comprised of experts under the Ministerial Council for Digital Government and conducted intensive discussions regarding digital transformation from October to November last year.

The vigorous discussion at the WG encompassed the relationship between people with disabilities and digital technology. The experts’ suggestion included that digitalization should underpin the environment where everyone, including those with disabilities, can access fair, safe, and helpful information.

Through these discussions, the WG has compiled a vision for a digital society. That is, "through the use of digital technology, Japan is rapidly advancing digital transformation that is human-centered and leaves no one behind, contributing to the happiness of every individual by allowing diverse citizens to choose digital services suited to their needs."

Ten guiding values are set forth to facilitate the digital transformation of Japanese society, and one of these ten values is Inclusion and Diversity, stated in number seven:

• Ensure the accessibility to everyone, Enrich IT infrastructure
• Assure the full civic participation for the elderly and people with disabilities or illnesses, and their caretakers
• Foster diverse values and lifestyles

3.Reflected in bills related to digital transformation

The contents of these WG discussions and summaries were compiled into the "bills related to digital transformation" through the "Basic Policy on Reforms towards the Realization of a Digital Society" decided by the Cabinet at the end of last year. And are now being discussed in the Diet.

The Diet has currently been deliberating following a package of five bills related to digital transformation:

• Basic Bill on the Formation of a Digital Society to replace the IT Basic Act 
• Bill to establish the Digital Agency to create a government body to deal with digitalization

• Bill concerning the legislation of related laws for a digital society to take necessary legislative measures, such as reviewing the personal information protection system, to implement measures related to the formation of a digital society
• Bill on the registration of savings accounts for the payment of Public Benefits to make it possible to register a savings account and use it to receive public benefits in case of emergencies
• Bill on the use of “My Number” for savings accounts to enable verification of savings accounts in the event of inheritance or disaster

Of these, the "Basic Bill on the Formation of a Digital Society" reflects ideas such as "Inclusion and Diversity." For this reason, let's take a closer look at the Bill.

4.The Basic Bill on the Formation of a Digital Society

The predecessor of the Basic Bill on the Formation of a Digital Society is the IT Basic Act enacted in 2000. The purpose of this Act is to promote necessary measures to develop "an advanced information and telecommunication network society," including the Internet, and "a society where every citizen has an opportunity to easily and independently use" them. By doing so, the Act aims "creative and vigorous development can be achieved in all fields," such as strengthening the international competitiveness of industries, creating employment opportunities, and improving convenience for citizens.

Meanwhile, since the enactment of the IT Basic Act, considerable progress has already been made in developing advanced information and telecommunication networks. As a result, the majority of the population access, shares and transmits information via personal computers and smartphones. Moreover, the data distributed via the Internet is becoming increasingly diverse and extensive in volume. Therefore, it is essential to make the most of this data to realize creative and dynamic developments in all fields. In addition, the use of digital technology and data will be crucial not only for addressing the issues that have become apparent in response to COVID-19 mentioned earlier but also for addressing other social issues such as the declining birthrate, aging population, and natural disasters.

In light of this background, the IT Basic Act, which establishes policies for formulating measures, was reviewed entirely and compiled into the Basic Bill for the Formation of a Digital Society to promote society's digitalization proactively.

5.Provisions on Persons with Disabilities in the Basic Bill for the Formation of a Digital Society

As mentioned above, the ideas of Inclusion and Diversity discussed in WG are also reflected in the Basic Bill. Specifically, Article 8 states that "In the formation of a digital society, disparities in the opportunities and abilities required to use networks and information based on physical and mental conditions, such as disabilities, and other factors, may significantly impede the smooth and integrated formation of a digital society. Therefore, the government shall ensure the correction of such disparities." Thus, the basic principle is to rectify the disparities in opportunities and abilities related to the use of networks and information so that no one is left behind in the digital society.

6.Supplementary Information – The purpose of human-centered digital transformation with no one left behind."

The purpose of "human-centered digital transformation with no one left behind." was explained in the deliberations of the Diet. Therefore, this section will provide a supplementary explanation of what kind of digitalization is being aimed for, referring to the discussions in the Diet as some of you may not be familiar with digital technology.

First of all, the digitalization we are promoting is not to force those who are not good with digital to use digital. For the time being, the current analog and digital procedures will coexist, and we will promote the transition from analog to digital while allowing the general public to experience the improved convenience of digitalization. We believe that this is the way the transition from analog to digital should be.

Secondly, digitization is expected to improve the overall quality of public services. For example, let's consider the operations of a municipality. The digitalization of administrative procedures will reduce the number of residents coming to the reception and improve the efficiency of back-office operations. Furthermore, we hope that the staff members whose workload is lightened by these effects will devote more time to those who need face-to-face support or engage in the planning and development of new administrative services, thereby improving the quality of administrative services as a whole. In this way, even those who do not directly use digital technology can benefit (indirectly) from digitalization. Thus, we want to promote a human-centered digital transformation which leaves no one behind, and where all people can benefit from it.

The Basic Bill on the Formation of a Digital Society, which is particularly relevant to people with disabilities in this digital transformation, sets forth the basic concept that will guide the formulation of measures related to digitization. Specific measures will be formulated in the future with the Digital Agency (to be established in September this year), which is currently being deliberated in the Diet, playing a leading role in the related legislation.

We will continue to work on the realization of human centered digital transformation which leaves no one behind.