Japan Falls Out of Top 10 in Digital Government Rankings

Jiji Press

11:49 JST, December 1, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan fell out of the top 10 in the fiscal 2023 global digital government rankings released Thursday by Waseda University’s Institute of Digital Government.

Japan ranked 11th in the latest rankings, failing to make the top 10 for the first time since the institute began the survey in fiscal 2005.

The result reflects a series of problems with the country’s My Number social security and tax identification cards, which are managed by the Digital Agency.

Covering a total of 66 countries and regions, the rankings are decided based on 10 evaluation indicators, including the availability of online administrative services and 5G high-speed and high-capacity telecommunications.

Denmark topped the list for the third consecutive year, followed by Canada and Britain.

Japan received high scores for government support for the development of digital services and the availability of “open data” that can be used freely.

On the other hand, the institute said that Japan has not made enough progress in promoting digitalization and administrative and fiscal reforms from the perspective of citizens, in light of the My Number-related problems.

As issues for Japan, the institute pointed to the limited authority of the Digital Agency and a delay in digital transformation efforts in public administration.

The institute suggested that Japan promote public-private partnerships using digital technologies, as well as active investment in the digital field.