Recovering from “digital defeat”…March 26, 18:08, local governments “cannot make it in time” one after another

A large-scale project promoted by the government, learning from the "digital defeat" of the coronavirus pandemic.

Although efforts have been made involving local governments across the country, it has become clear that 10% of local governments will not be able to meet the target deadline of the end of fiscal 2025.

We covered what was happening on the ground at local governments. (Economy Department reporter Toshin Taiki)

Government targets unreached

``We have finalized the results of a survey and hearing on systems that are difficult to migrate due to the standardization of local government systems

,'' Digital Minister Kono said at a press conference on March 5.

He revealed the results of a survey of local governments across the country to see if they could complete what is called ``system standardization'' by the end of fiscal 2025, the government's goal.

It was found that 171 local governments were not expected to be able to complete the project in time. This number is approximately 10% of the 1,788 local governments nationwide targeted.

In addition to six prefectures such as Osaka and Saitama, this included all 20 ordinance-designated cities such as Yokohama and Nagoya, as well as Tokyo's 10 special wards such as Shinjuku and Shibuya.

Another 50 local governments have also complained that it is difficult to complete the work to meet the target, and it is possible that more local governments will not be able to meet the deadline.

What is this ``system standardization'' that local governments are crying out about not being able to do it in time? This is a project that began as a lesson learned from the ``digital defeat'' during the coronavirus pandemic.

Overcoming “digital defeat”

In 2020, the new coronavirus was rampant.

As the government rolls out a series of large-scale anti-coronavirus measures, including vaccinations and 100,000 yen per person "benefits," it has become clear that the government is lagging behind in digitalization.

Collaboration between the national government and local governments was not smooth, forcing people to rely on telephones and faxes, causing confusion in various locations, including delays in payment and complicated procedures.

One of the reasons for this confusion, also known as ``digital defeat,'' has been pointed out to be the disparity in system specifications among local governments.

Until now, the resident systems operated by local governments have been developed and modified individually by each local government based on factors such as population size and operational usability, resulting in varying specifications.

For example, when registering the name "Tokyo Ichiro," some municipalities register the first and last name together as "Tokyo Ichiro," while others register the first and last name separately as "Tokyo" and "Ichiro." , and so on.

It was also pointed out that these disparities made it difficult to collaborate between the national and local governments, contributing to the ``digital defeat.''

Based on this lesson, the government has launched a ``system standardization'' initiative in 2021 that will align the system specifications of all local governments.

The targets were 20 core business systems, including the Basic Resident Register, Child Allowance, and National Health Insurance.

The government has called on local governments across the country to transition all 20 systems to unified specifications by the end of fiscal 2025, and has announced a policy of providing financial support until then.

Local government sites are overwhelmed with response efforts and are confused.

So why are local governments unable to complete the work by the end of fiscal 2025?

I visited Shizuoka City, a government-designated city with a population of over 600,000 people.

Of the 20 duties, Shizuoka City has been using the system it originally built around 40 years ago, with repeated modifications, for things like resident tax.

In response to the government's policy of "system standardization," the company searched for an IT company that could handle the work, but in addition to the enormous amount of work involved, there were already only a limited number of companies available nationwide. There were so many orders from local governments that no company could be found that could complete the work by the deadline.

Shizuoka City says that out of the 20 targeted tasks, 10, including resident tax and long-term care insurance, will not be completed by the end of fiscal 2025, and are not expected to be completed until around fiscal 2027.

A city official revealed his painful feelings.

Atsuyuki Kubota, Director of the Digitalization Promotion Division

: ``Transferring 20 business systems all at once is an unprecedented scale, and no local government has experienced this before, so we knew from the beginning that this schedule would be quite tight.'' Digitalization of government I don't think the national government's stance is wrong, as it has benefits for residents, but I wish it would have proceeded with more consultation with local governments."

IT companies responsible for the work are also suffering

Are IT companies called "vendors" who are responsible for the work really unable to undertake the work?

This also reveals the circumstances of businesses suffering from labor shortages.

NEC is responsible for system migration work for approximately 100 local governments. Approximately 1,500 people, including those from partner companies, are working on the project, but the work is still huge and there is still a shortage of manpower.

Information related to system design is highly confidential, so for safety reasons, the company plans not to use foreign personnel or outsource to overseas companies.

The company is focusing on mid-career recruitment, but securing staff is not easy.

Furthermore, when the government launches new policies such as "countermeasures against the declining birthrate" and "fixed tax reductions," local governments are forced to change the design of their systems, and due to lack of manpower and time, it is difficult to accelerate the work any further. They say it's difficult.

An NEC representative said

, ``In order to ensure that system changes do not affect resident services, migration work requires repeated tests and modifications, which inevitably takes time. It is estimated that around 20% of customers, mainly in many local governments, will not be able to meet their targets in time.

The country's command tower, the Digital Agency,

In response to a number of local governments failing to meet the deadline, the Digital Agency is giving local governments a grace period and encouraging vendors to share information among themselves in order to ensure that the transition process goes smoothly.

Digital Minister Kono: ``

I think there are various evaluations, but it is important that standardization progresses steadily, and even if we say that there are many or few local governments that cannot make it in time, it does not matter. We have no choice but to make the transition as quickly as possible, with as few errors as possible, and we want the Digital Agency to provide solid backup."

Expert “Improve communication”

On the other hand, not only local government officials but also experts are pointing out the lack of communication between the national government and local governments as the reason for this confusion.

Atsuko Nomura, Chief Researcher, Japan Research Institute

: ``In order to continue to maintain public services in the future, digitalization of government and ``standardization of systems'' are priority issues that must be addressed, but they are being pushed forward with a deadline. Many local governments are of the opinion that the national government should have provided information on the steps it will take at the same time as presenting its vision. It is an issue of

summary

Regarding the digitalization of government, I cannot shake the impression that confusion continues, not only with the recent system standardization, but also with troubles surrounding My Number cards.

It cannot be denied that the reason behind this is that local governments are not keeping up with the government's digitalization policy.

Furthermore, I have the impression that the benefits and risks of digitalization of government have not been adequately explained to the public.

As the Digital Agency's philosophy is ``people-friendly digitalization that leaves no one behind,'' it is required to communicate more carefully with both local governments and the public.

I feel this strongly through this interview.

(Broadcast on "Good Morning Japan" on March 6th)

Economic Affairs Department reporter

Toma Joined Air Force

in 2013

After working at the Okinawa Bureau and Yamaguchi Bureau, joined the current position.