第２６回Online workshop報告（１０月９日）

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《今回のworkshop》
○Digital government; Estonia
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＜Agenda＞

Digital government; Estonia

Estonia is a country located next to Russia, the northmost country among the Baltic states. After gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Estonia established a democratic nation encouraging economic liberalism.

The Estonian government has supported the IT industry for a long time. In addition, while supporting the IT industry, the Estonian government itself has constructed a digital platform and transferred its function to enable provision of public services online, so-called “digital government”.

In Estonia, public services related to multiple departments such as tax filing, driving license renewal, housing assistance, passport application, and healthcare support are all available online. Estonia also introduced an online voting system and nearly half of the citizens used this system in the 2019 national election. The most outstanding point of the digital platform of the Estonian government is that it connects all departments and shares the centralized database regarding common items needed for service provision. In other countries, the underlying digital platforms for public service provision are developed individually by department or even by service. Vertically segregated systems may create duplicates between and within departments and create excessive work on the back-office, especially during data sharing. The digital government is also a convenient system for Estonian citizens, as they are provided with a single ID and password to access all departments.

When we look at the situation in Japan, we still have a long way to go. Digital Agency was established on September 1st. The aim of the agency is to promote the use of digital technologies in public service areas. Compared to other countries, Japanese are hesitant to electronic-based services. People prefer cash over cashless. The enrollment rate of MY NUMBER CARD, which enables fast and efficient coordination of administrative processes in social security, taxation, and disaster response is low. Although, it could be also used as a self-identification and health insurance card, the issuance rate of MY NUMBER CARD remains to be 34.2% of the national population (as of July, 2021).

Estonia now consults and advises foreign governments based on its experience in implementing its digital society. They say that “trust” is the most important factor to gain public understandings.

Please discuss whether you agree with this perspective.

<Questions>

1. What service do you want the most to be provided online?

2. Why is Japanese hesitant to cashless and self-identification cards? What do you think is the barrier?

3. Should Japan head for digital government? Or should Japan build a different type of society? 

<References>

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/08/how-estonia-became-a-digital-society.html

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