Japan opens Digital Agency to boost government technology

Japan is aiming to give a technological upgrade to government services and recordkeeping with the opening of the Digital Agency to overhaul antiquated systems that have had their shortfalls highlighted by the pandemic

TOKYO -- Japan looked to give a technological upgrade to government services and recordkeeping with the Digital Agency opened Wednesday to overhaul antiquated systems that have had their shortfalls highlighted by the pandemic. Japan currently relies heavily on old-fashioned paperwork for its people to apply for government services, while central and local government offices use different systems to store and manage data, lacking compatibility. The lack of digitalization in government services for the public became a major problem during the pandemic, causing delays and mishandling of applications for financial subsidies and support, as well as slowing medical data transmission needed for virus measures. Fax-based data sharing at local health centers caused delays in recording and sharing information related to COVID-19 patients. Problems were also reported with the vaccination reservation system and a separate system for giving updates on the rollout. A lack of digitalization also caused delays at many schools early in the pandemic last year as they switched to online classes.