Rush due to criticism of Abe Government losing “digital defeat” against COVID-19.
The Japanese Government plans to create a new digital technology agency by autumn 2021, according to several media outlets.
It was reported in the Japan Times, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga aims for his newly installed government to submit legislation to set up the agency to next year’s regular session of the Diet, which is expected to be convened in January, for enactment during the session, states Japan Times.
PM Suga has instructed digital transformation minister Takuya Hirai to speed up preparations to establish a government agency to lead the efforts for digitalising society.
Minister Hirai said plans to launch the administration’s promised Digital Agency next year to improve the efficiency of government services
The urgency was due to the previous Abe government coming “under harsh criticism earlier this year for its slow response to the coronavirus and its economic fallout, especially compared with neighbouring South Korea. This led to criticism that Japan suffered a “digital defeat” against the pandemic”.
Minister Hirai has held several positions within the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan including Minister charge of Information Technology Policy; Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy; Minister of State for Space Policy; Chairperson, Digital Nation LDP Special Committee; Chairperson, Public Relations Headquarters, LDP; and Chairperson, Special Mission Committee on IT Strategy, LDP.
“What is required is speed that Kasumigaseki has never experienced before,” Hirai told reporters after meeting with the prime minister, referring to the district in Tokyo where many central government offices are located. “I want to do this with full effort.”
