CICC TOKYO DAYORI vol.101

From January 13th to 18th, 2025, we, CICC, invited key digital strategy
figures from IT-related governments and other organizations from seven
Asian countries - Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Thailand,
and Vietnam - to Japan, and held the "Digital Strategies in Asian
Countries" conference on January 16th, which was well received.
https://cicc.or.jp/english/20250130-01/

Overall, I got the impression that all seven countries are steadily
moving towards digitalization through their individual policies, under
the vision set forth by their governments. Of course, this was also
because each presentation was very well put together.
What about the situation in Japan now, on the other hand?
The integration of health insurance cards and My Number cards is still
being criticized, and more recently, there have been voices saying that the
integration of driver's licenses and My Number cards is difficult to
understand.
I am concerned that the pace of digitalization in Japan is slower than
in these seven countries overall. I have been pondering the reasons why
I feel this way.
Compared to the policies of these Asian countries, Japan's policies seem
to be scattered and not systematic, based on a big vision. The Digital
Agency should take stronger leadership, but authoritarian policies
probably don't suit Japan. It is also often said that existing digital
systems are fragmented and lack commonality due to the introduction of
individual systems by ICT companies in the past, a practice known as
vendor lock-in. Malaysia, which did not participate this time, is
reorganizing its Ministry of Communications and Digitalization in its
organizational restructuring in December 2023, concentrating authority
for digitalization in the Ministry of Digitalization.
Such a reorganization may be necessary in Japan as well.
It is also often said that there is less trust in the government
compared to other countries, but I am not sure whether this can be
quantitatively measured. Digitalization in Japan has a history of being
driven by the government.
Some people say that since some elderly people cannot keep up with
digitalization, we should continue to use analog paper methods, but is
this really the case? In an increasingly aging society, I believe that
digital is the way that the elderly will fit into their lives.
Finally, is it education? The populations of these participating
countries are generally young, and in this presentation, it seems that
digital technology is not so familiar in schools. There is a digital
divide between urban and rural areas, but in Japan, the generation that
grew up digitally from childhood is finally becoming adults.
I hope they will do well. However, there are various issues in schools,
such as whether to lend tablets or have them purchase at their own expense,
serious problems such as bullying between children on social networking
services, and differences in the digital skills of teachers.
The World Expo will start in Osaka in April, and I would love to see
2025 become the first year of digitalization.

Hirokazu Morita

<Topics of Government>

(1) Launch of IoT Product Security Labeling Scheme (JC-STAR)
https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2025/0325_006.html

(2) Interpretative Guidelines on Electronic Commerce and Information
Property Trading Revised
https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2025/0212_002.html

(3) Cabinet Decision on the Bill for the Act for Partially Amending the
Act on Facilitation of Information Processing and the Act on Special
Accounts
https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2025/0207_001.html

<Topics of Industries>

(1) Rakuten Mobile Partners with Fujitsu to Accelerate 5G Network
Expansion
https://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/2025/0303-02.html

(2) Fujitsu and FICO partner to accelerate digital transformation in
financial services
https://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/2025/0319-01.html

(3) Fujitsu, ANA X, Toshiba Data, and Kawasaki City launch Japan's first
pilot program to quantify citizen CO2 reduction
https://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/2025/0225-01.html

(4) NEC receives order for walkthrough gates leveraging face recognition
technology to facilitate more seamless airport arrival and departure
procedures
https://www.nec.com/en/press/202503/global_20250325_02.html

(5) NEC develops and commercializes 5G-compatible virtualized base
stations (vRAN)
https://www.nec.com/en/press/202503/global_20250303_02.html

(6) NEC develops biometric based digital signature technology that
enables face recognition without storing facial information
https://www.nec.com/en/press/202502/global_20250226_03.html

(7) Hitachi Accelerates AI-Driven Transformation for Physical and
Industrial Applications
https://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2025/03/250319.html

(8) Hitachi to Install a New Digital Maturity Assessment Method to
Accelerate DX in Global Manufacturing Operations
https://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2025/03/250326b.html