Twenty Years On, Japan Government's Digital Ambitions Still Stuck In Piles of Paper

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. Reuters reports: 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 digitalization could reduce the incentive for the private sector to go digital in a blow to Japan's efforts to boost productivity.

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 woes 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 its own 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 told Reuters. Currently, each ministry has developed its own 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. Overall, it could cost the government 323 million working hours per year if it doesn't go digital, translating into personnel costs of nearly $8 billion, a government regulatory reform panel estimated in a report released in July last year.

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