No More Taking Time Off Work: What Is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Initiative to Move Administrative Procedures Online?

Inconvenient Government Procedures

This autumn, the A family moved to Tocho Ward due to a job transfer. They checked the website over the weekend, hoping to go to the municipal office to submit their "moving-in notification," only to find that procedures cannot be handled on weekends or holidays. Both Mr. and Mrs. A work full-time and are busy from morning until night on weekdays, so they cannot make it during office hours. The husband had no choice but to take a morning off to go to the municipal office.
When submitting the moving-in notification, they also wanted to apply for "child allowance" and "child medical expense subsidies" at the same time, but they were told that these could not be handled at the same counter and had to go to a counter on a different floor. There, they found a long line... In the end, Mr. A had to wait for over an hour and had to head to work in the afternoon without taking a lunch break. (*This story is a fiction.)

Many of you may have had similar bitter experiences. We apologize for the inconvenience and trouble caused by having to perform procedures in "real life."

It is exhausting to have to take time off work or interrupt telework just to visit a government office. Furthermore, we want to avoid wasting time being sent from one counter to another. How convenient it would be if administrative procedures could be handled online via websites or smartphone apps.

98% of All Permits, Licenses, and Notifications to Be Digitized

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government believes that issues related to administrative procedures must be resolved as quickly as possible so that residents can live comfortably and businesses can focus on their activities without inconvenience.

Therefore, as one of the seven core projects in its structural reform, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is powerfully and urgently promoting the "One-Stop Online Procedures Project." Specifically, we will begin digitization within the 2020 fiscal year to allow online applications for 119 out of the 169 major administrative procedures with high application volumes that can be changed under the authority of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

The case at the beginning is under the jurisdiction of the "Ward," and we will support their digitization as much as possible, but first, we will swiftly proceed with what the Tokyo Metropolitan Government can do.

The procedures covered this time account for 169 items, which is 98% of all permits, licenses, and notifications handled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Of these, 10 procedures will be abolished entirely, and we will digitize all of the remaining 119 that can be digitized under the authority of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that almost all procedures directly involving the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will be digitized.

Digitization Is Also Effective for COVID-19 Countermeasures

The digitization of administrative procedures brings significant benefits to residents and businesses.

First, it reduces all the time (and costs) spent on researching procedures, filling out application forms, obtaining attachments, traveling to government office counters, and processing within the office. As in the example at the beginning, there is no need to take time off work, nor will you be sent from one counter to another.

Furthermore, because digitization allows application work to be completed without contact with others, it also leads to a reduction in the risk of infection from COVID-19 and other diseases. Especially at the end and beginning of the fiscal year, many people visit government offices. In addition to contact between visitors and government staff, opportunities for contact between visitors themselves also increase.

If digitization is realized, there will be no need to go to the government office, which creates the benefit of safety and peace of mind not only for residents and businesses but also for those working at the government office.

34 Procedures Already Digitized

In fact, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has already begun digitizing administrative procedures. Out of 159 items, including those that can be digitized under national authority, 34 procedures, such as approval for the use of sports facilities and the issuance of graduation certificates, are already available for online application (as of the end of July). For these, we will continue to improve the administrative processing flow and the systems used.

For the remaining 95 procedures, we will sequentially begin digital initiatives by the end of the 2020 fiscal year. Additionally, for the 30 procedures that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government handles based on national laws and regulations, we will work with the national government to promote legal amendments for digitization.

Regarding administrative procedures in Tokyo, there are more applications from businesses than from residents. Of the 159 procedures being digitized, about 60% are for corporations, such as applications for real estate brokerage licenses and permits for general use of port facilities.

That said, we will not put individual-oriented procedures on the back burner. For example, applications for the use of cultural facilities such as theaters and applications for tours of the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market are scheduled to be digitized within the 2020 fiscal year.

We Will Not Create Systems That Are Difficult to Use

Digital reform of administration is an urgent issue for Japan as a whole, and it should be tackled with a sense of speed.

However, it is not enough to simply digitize. What the Tokyo Metropolitan Government keeps in mind is creating services that are easy for users to use. We must not create difficult-to-use systems that impose the logic of the administration and lack a user perspective.

Therefore, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is attempting to enhance the effects of digitization by developing services in accordance with the "12 Service Design Principles" of the Digital Government Action Plan established by the government. For example, we are thoroughly implementing a user-first approach from the development stage to embody clauses such as "start from user needs," "make services simple," and "blend into the user's daily experience."

We will also take on the challenge of developing online services and smartphone apps that focus on UI (user interface) to increase convenience.

You can breeze through administrative procedures online without having to visit a government office. Please look forward to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's new administrative services, reborn through digitalization!

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