Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday that the government intends to standardize administrative systems of local governments by fiscal 2025, giving a more specific goal than the current target of "in the 2020s."
Suga referred to the goal during a meeting of a government working group to promote the digitization of administrative services, which was held at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday morning.
"The standardization of the systems is essential for residents to receive the same services even though they move to areas [overseen by other local governments] as well as for the services to be provided swiftly across the board," Suga said.
The prime minister expressed an intention to have the specific work undertaken mainly by a "digital agency" that the government aims to launch within the next year.
"We'll speed up efforts with the aim of achieving [the standardization] by the end of fiscal 2025," he said.
Currently, local governments have different specifications for their administrative systems. This has hampered effective operations. The central government intends to standardize the systems, particularly in such common areas as Basic Resident Registration and taxation. It is considering establishing a new law that will oblige local governments to introduce systems with the same specifications.
Regarding measures to improve the convenience of My Number identification cards, the working group also confirmed a plan to create a roadmap within the year that will also set the goal for such efforts to bear fruit by fiscal 2025. It will consider such matters as equipping smartphones with My Number card functions and using the cards to manage individuals' health information.
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