Outline of Survey Results

managing it in government, business & communities
Chapter 9 - Electronic Government in Japan: IT Utilization Status of Local Governments
Managing IT in Government, Business & Communities
by Gerry Gingrich (ed) 
Idea Group Publishing 2003
Brought to you by Team-Fly

Information Infrastructure

PC Diffusion Rate

The PC diffusion rate (the number of PCs per employee) is 36 percent (one PC per about three employees: the average of local governments). The information infrastructure is not sufficient yet on the prefectural level, even though the rate sharply increased from 45 percent in 1998 to 73 percent in 2000. This rate of increase is still low when compared with that of local governments, which had an approximately five-fold increase in four years from the diffusion rate in the 1996 survey of 7.1 percent (one PC per 14 employees).

PC Diffusion Rate at Government Head Offices

The PC diffusion rate at central government offices has increased to 51 percent (one PC per two employees). In particular, prefectural governments achieved a rate of 92 percent (about one PC per employee).

Internet Connection Rate

The Internet connection rate is still at a low level of 20 percent, but the rate for prefectural governments is higher at 39 percent.

Digitalization of Public Administration

Status of Plan Formulation for the Digitalization of Public Administration

Seventy-one percent of local governments answered that they have already formulated plans for the digitalization of their administration and 13 percent answered that they are in the planning stage. As a whole, formulation of plans for digitalization is proceeding well.

The Revision Ratio of Plans for Digitalization of Public Administration in Line With the National Electronic Government

Of the local governments that have already formulated plans for the digitalization of public administration, 9 percent have finished revision of their plans and 48 percent have planned revision in line with the national electronic government. In November 1999 the Millennium Project, aimed at the establishment of an electronic government infrastructure by 2003, was announced. The government is requested to realize an electronic government, which handles electronic information in the same manner as paper-based information, by fiscal year 2003, and even expedite the digitization of citizens and businesses widely. Public administration should be intensively reformed to digitize documents, promote a paperless environment, and share and utilize information through information networks. Moreover, local governments will be encouraged to share information systems, depending upon the level of prefectures and other municipalities, so that all the local governments will be connected to the Local Government-Wide Area Network by fiscal year 2003. In 2000, the IT Strategy Headquarters was established within the Cabinet in order to promote comprehensive measures for the creation of an internationally competitive IT nation, in which benefits of the IT revolution are shared by all Japanese [3]. Because the survey was conducted only three months after the announcement, revision was an issue to be addressed in the future. However, a majority (58 percent) of local governments have already conducted or planned revision, and showed enthusiasm for the establishment of electronic local governments.

Important Items in Formulating Plans for the Digitalization of Public Administration

In formulating plans for digitalization of public administration, the following items are considered to be important by local governments: development of information infrastructure (66 percent); delivery of information using the Internet (53 percent); one-stop services and non-stop services (40 percent); digitalization and simplification of handling of various applications and notifications (39 percent); consistency with administrative reforms (27 percent); and security (23 percent). The fact that the development of an information infrastructure is regarded as the most important implies its backwardness. The top four major items are considered the basic backbone of e-government, which the government should implement as soon as possible.

Digitalization of Organizations

The introduction rates at prefectural governments for LAN (90 percent [4]) and e-mail (74 percent) are high. These are followed by facility management (39 percent) and electronic bulletin boards (35 percent). The introduction rates of schedule management (18 percent), creation of database of official documents (15 percent), delivery of bid information through the Internet (12 percent), and electronic approval (7 percent) are still low. The utilization rate of e-mail at local governments expanded approximately 3.2 times in four years compared to the 20.2 percent rate in 1996. Local governments should introduce facility management, electronic bulletin boards, and schedule management soon; this will promote the use of groupware easily.

Utilization Status of E-Mail by Position

For the local governments already using e-mail, regular employees use it more frequently than top management and managerial-level staff. Utilization from the top and middle management seems low in local governments when compared to private enterprises. Managers suspect that e-government is just a legacy office automation to transact standard mass work. It is important to note that the use of this technology by only general employees does not lead to the digitalization of the whole organization. It is necessary to increase the e-mail utilization rate of top and middle management as soon as possible.

As contrasted with private enterprise data (Shimada, 1999), there are rises in all positions in four years, but still a large gap in the top and middle management. If they do not catch up, it will be an impediment to whole organization's digitalization.

Creation of Database of Official Documents

Only 8 percent of prefectural governments have created a database of official documents on an organizational level. Of the local governments who created a database, only 25 percent created a database of all official documents, and 45 percent of them created a database of only lists and similar documents. To cope with information disclosure in the future, database creation must be implemented without delay.

Table 1: Utilization Status of E-Mail by Position (Introduced Governments)
 

Prefectures

Government-designated cities

Special wards

Cities inside Tokyo

Cities outside Tokyo

Top management

32%

48%

20%

27%

29%

Middle management

50%

43%

30%

27%

25%

Regular employees

82%

86%

40%

64%

68%

click to expand
Figure 2: Utilization Status of E-Mail by Position


Figure 3: Change in Utilization Status of E-Mail

Electronic Procurement

The following are not conducted using procurement: tendering and bidding via the Internet and applications for participation in qualification examinations. Only 12 percent of local governments provide order placement information using the electronic procurement system. On the other hand, according to the survey conducted in America, almost 53 percent make purchases online. In addition, although one-third of the reporting local governments post requests for bids or proposals (RFPs) on their Web sites, of those that do not, about 70 percent plan to do so (Norris, Fletcher, and Holden, 2001). As a result of the introduction of electronic procurement, combined with the revision of the contract method, some local governments succeeded in dramatically reducing contract prices. Electronic procurement should be introduced for cost reduction reasons as well.

Electronic Approval

Only 1 percent of local governments introduced electronic approval for all operations on an organizational basis. However, 52 percent are examining the issue and introduction in the future is expected. In some local governments, electronic approval is used only for specific operations (1 percent) or by specific divisions (5 percent), such as those related to simple official documents, overtime payment, travel orders, holidays, financial accounting, and utility bill payments.

Digitalization of Services for Residents

Almost all local governments (93 percent) provide services for residents via the Internet; however, other operations are not so digitalized. Following the above are electronic libraries (28 percent [5]), electronic galleries and museums (24 percent [6]), electronic applications (18 percent), and integrated GIS (Geographical Information System) (16 percent). Local governments, prefectures, and government-designated cities have introduced electronic libraries and electronic galleries and museums. The reason seems to be that they can provide service to a wide area and reach a great number of their citizens.

Services for Residents Via the Internet

The rate of introduction for provision of services for residents via the Internet is 100 percent for both prefectures and government-designated cities.

Electronic Applications

Local governments who introduced electronic application mainly use it for the following operations: confirmation related to construction (41 percent), utilization of public facilities (41 percent), port management (18 percent), and drugs, medicines and medical services (9 percent). The scope of utilization will expand in line with the movement of the national government, and operations suitable for online processing may in principle be digitalized. With regard to the form of application, 35 percent are filed using floppy disks, 32 percent are filed through dedicated terminals, and only 32 percent are through the Internet. An increase of Internet application is needed.

Table 2: Introduction Status of Digitalization of Services for Residents
 

Prefectures

Government-designated cities

Special wards

Cities inside Tokyo

Cities outside Tokyo

Average

Services for residents via the Internet[a]

100%

100%

81%

71%

98%

93%

Electronic libraries[b]

48%

14%

14%

17%

24%

28%

Electronic galleries and museums[a]

48%

43%

12%

0%

18%

24%

Electronic applications

23%

43%

13%

5%

20%

18%

Integrated GIS

9%

14%

19%

5%

23%

16%

(Chi-Square Test:)

[a]1% Significance,

[b]5% Significance

Integrated GIS

Local governments who introduced integrated GIS (Geographical Information System) mainly use it for the following operations: city planning projects (59 percent), valuation of fixed assets (35 percent), geographical information systems (35 percent), sewage systems (35 percent), building construction administration (29 percent), road ledger systems (24 percent), disaster prevention systems (18 percent), and geographical environment systems (12 percent).

Contents of Homepage

The major contents of homepages of local governments are information on upcoming events (96 percent), utilization status of public facilities (89 percent), various business conditions (88 percent), sightseeing and products information (82 percent), health and medical information (82 percent), lifestyle information (80 percent), statistical information (79 percent), public hearings and surveys (71 percent), and regional industrial information (55 percent). The utilization rates of electronic bulletin boards (15 percent) and electronic conference rooms (8 percent) are still low. This shows that many of their homepages provide only one-way communication, so it is necessary to make interactive services such as electronic bulletin boards.

Reflection of Residents' Opinions on Policy

Thirty-nine percent of the opinions provided through e-mail, electronic conference rooms, and electronic bulletin boards are reflected in policies; however, this figure differs depending on the type of local government.

Opinions of residents provided through e-mail are reflected mainly in town building measures such as resident-centered town buildings (30 percent), long-term plans (27 percent), and comprehensive city planning projects (25 percent). These are followed by basic environmental plans (16 percent) and city planning projects (14 percent).

Services for Residents other than Homepages

Twenty-seven percent of local governments provide services for residents other than homepages. These include continuing education services (46 percent), corporate support services (31 percent), medical services (23 percent), social work services (23 percent), library lending services (23 percent), and agricultural support services (23 percent) to name a few.

Information Disclosure Status

As many as 95 percent of local governments have already established an information disclosure ordinance, and 43 percent have issued regulations on disclosure of a request for electronic documents. However, the information disclosure rate through the Internet is very low, and only 3 percent answered, "Only application is possible," and 1 percent answered, "only application and answer are possible." Twenty-five percent are under examination.

Eighty-four percent of local governments established a personal information protection ordinance. Sixty-six percent of local governments prohibit online connection with external parties other than enumerated specific partners (basically prohibited) and 20 percent prohibit online connection with external parties without exception. It is urgent to re-examine this restrictive policy for the construction of e-government.

Driving Bodies

The chief information officers (CIO) are deputy governors and deputy mayors (13 percent), general managers and bureau directors (22 percent), and directors (31 percent). Thus, digitalization projects are mainly driven by director-level officers. Thirty-two percent answered that they have no driving body, which is urgently required to be established first of all.

As for addressing attitude on digitalization, prefectures and government-designated cities got high scores on all positions, and other governments should raise IT consciousness. Among positions, regular employees are generally highly motivated.

Business Process Reengineering by Utilizing IT

Fifty-five percent of local governments implement business process reengineering (BPR) by utilizing IT. Government-designated cities (100 percent) and prefectures (70 percent), in particular, are eager to use it. They are followed by cities outside Tokyo (55 percent), cities inside Tokyo (35 percent), and special wards (31 percent), which have to be encouraged to increase implementation.

Table 3: Addressing Attitude on Digitalization
 

Prefectures

Government-designated cities

Special wards

Cities inside Tokyo

Cities outside Tokyo

Top management

66%

86%

44%

35%

45%

Middle management

71%

71%

50%

45%

38%

Regular employees

69%

86%

38%

60%

60%

Impediments to Realization of Electronic Local Governments

Major factors listed as impediments are financial difficulty (68 percent), assurance of security (55 percent), protection of personal information (44 percent), and old organization structure (30 percent). These are followed by lack of communications equipment and facilities (21 percent), understanding of top management (17 percent), national laws and regulations (15 percent), ordinances and regulations of local governments (13 percent), and understanding of managerial-level staff (10 percent).

On the other hand, according to one American survey, for local governments that engage in e-government and those that plan to, the biggest obstacles are the lack of IT or Web staff (66.6 percent) and the lack of financial resources (54.3 percent), followed by the lack of Web expertise (46.7 percent). Other barriers include security issues (42.1 percent), the need to upgrade current technology (33.9 percent), privacy issues (27.7 percent), and issues relating to convenience fees for online transactions (Norris, Fletcher, and Holden, 2001).

According to the other survey, government officials selected security issues (37 percent) most often, followed by lack of financial resources (26 percent) and the inability to find qualified personnel (23 percent) (Hart-Teeter, 2000).

When comparing the survey results between Japan and America, there is a point in common and one difference. The lack of financial resources and security issues are high barriers in both countries. On the other hand, in America, the lack of human resources is a high barrier, but it is low in Japan.


Figure 4: Addressing Attitude on Digitalization

In Japan, the impediment listed first is financial difficulty. To cope with this problem, when introducing information technology, it is necessary to fully revise and streamline operations in order to take advantage of information technology at a lower cost; streamline the existing information systems and improve obsolete systems to reap the benefits of cost reduction from digitalization.

Judging from the fact that the lack of communications equipment and facilities is listed fifth, software-related issues such as security, protection of personal information, and old organization structure are more serious than simple hardware-related factors. Thus, comprehensive measures including reforms related to operations, safety, organizations, and consciousness are considered to be necessary.

Looking into the data by the type of local government, municipal governments recognize protection of security and personal information as a more serious impediment than prefectural governments. Municipal governments put more emphasis on the prevention of personal information leakage because they are in a closer position to residents. Before advancing digitalization of local governments, it is necessary to draw up an information security policy to assure security in all aspects. Many prefectural governments listed the issue of old organization structure. This may be because their structures are older than municipal governments due to the larger size of their organizations. Thus, stronger leadership by top management and managerial-level staff is required.

Table 4: Impediments to Realization of Electronic Local Governments
 

Financial difficulty

Assurance of security

Protection of personal information

Old organization structure

Lack of communications equipment and facilities

Understanding of top management

National laws and regulations

Difficulty in finding suitable personnel

Ordinances and regulations

Understanding of managerial-level staff

Other

Understanding of labor unions

Understanding of the assembly

Prefectures

69%

47%

25%

44%

25%

22%

11%

14%

19%

11%

6%

0%

3%

Government-designated cities

57%

71%

43%

29%

14%

14%

29%

14%

14%

0%

14%

0%

0%

Special wards

88%

63%

50%

13%

31%

19%

0%

6%

6%

19%

0%

6%

0%

Cities inside Tokyo

60%

45%

60%

35%

15%

15%

15%

15%

15%

5%

5%

5%

0%

Cities outside Tokyo

67%

60%

48%

25%

18%

13%

20%

15%

10%

10%

3%

3%

3%

Average

68%

55%

44%

30%

21%

17%

15%

14%

13%

10%

4%

3%

2%

[3]http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/it/network/

[4]Internet connection rate is 52 percent.

[5]Rate of introduction of internet delivery services (including experimental stage)

[6]Rate of introduction of internet delivery services (including experimental stage)

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Managing IT in Government, Business & Communities
Managing IT in Government, Business & Communities
ISBN: 1931777403
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 188

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