Accelerating digital transformation to revitalize local economy and improve lives in Japan

In the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) 2022 Digital Competitiveness Index, Japan ranked 29th out of 63 countries, down one place from last year’s ranking. A 2021 white paper on information and communications by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications highlighted the gap between urban and local digital transformation initiatives in Japan, with urban areas making more progress and local areas lagging behind. There is a need to accelerate digital transformation across Japan to maintain and strengthen Japan’s competitiveness. Learn about local best practices in digital innovation across seven regions of Japan.

Supporting digital transformation across Japan

In September 2021, the Japanese government established the Digital Agency to promote and lead in accelerating digital transformation in Japan. To enable a digital-first society, the Japanese government is modernizing its IT infrastructure and services, and developing a digitally-equipped workforce, to solve important societal challenges, revitalize local communities, and drive local economic growth.

At AWS, we are committed to supporting Japan’s digital transformation ambition by helping Japanese customers modernize IT and innovate securely at pace, driving sustainable economic growth. Since 2011, AWS has invested ¥1,351 billion in total capital and operational expenditure associated with our two AWS infrastructure Regions in the country, Tokyo and Osaka. As a provider of cloud services for the Government Cloud since 2021, we have collaborated with our partners to support public sector customers in Japan to use the cloud to rapidly experiment at a lower cost and with increased flexibility, and accelerate innovation.

Accelerating innovation through collaboration with local governments

We believe that digital transformation can drive regional revitalization and help reduce the digital gap between rural regions and metropolitan cities. AWS is working with local government agencies and related organizations to support innovation in local and regional government nationwide and contribute to a better society and civic life.

We recently announced a collaboration with Tsukuba City, a research and education city in Ibaraki Prefecture, to help research and development startups in the city to more quickly leverage AWS’s startup support programs and cloud services, to create new services and solve societal issues.

AWS is also collaborating with Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture to accelerate the growth of startups and the local cloud engineering community to create a diverse, inclusive, and sustainable digital smart city. Through this collaboration, startups based in Hamamatsu City will be able to take advantage of AWS’s broad range of startup support programs to launch, build, and grow innovative citizen services using the city OS, its data collaboration infrastructure.

Expansion of digital transformation in local community and civic services

Kochi Prefecture has been focusing on horticulture using plastic greenhouses and other facilities, and boasts the highest agricultural output per unit area in Japan. To address challenges like data not being shared effectively, the prefecture is promoting its initiative, IoP (Internet of Plants) for digital transformation in smart agriculture using digital technologies and cloud. This enables local governments and farmers to measure plant growth information (photosynthesis, crop growth), yield, harvest time, and farming operations from environmental measurement devices installed in greenhouses, in addition to weather data/ conditions, shipping and collection data, and wholesale market data to “visualize” information on plants. By sharing and using this data across the region and communities, each farmer can increase harvest yield, achieving stable agricultural management, despite the aging population of farmers and in conditions that are adversely affected by weather.

Startups contributing to local digital transformation

Startups are an important driver of public sector innovation. Many solutions developed by startups help solve key challenges in the public sector and benefit citizens. AWS provides support to startups to help them launch, build, scale, and grow successful businesses. One example is AWS Startup Ramp participant and Fukuoka-based startup, TrueBizon, which provides drone-based solutions to address the challenges of a declining and aging population. By designing safe drone routes using AWS, TrueBizon provides services including the delivery of essential goods and supplies by drones, and support for citizens in depopulated areas who have difficulty with shopping and other activities. TrueBizon also helps people without immediate access to medical care, and provides drone support during natural disasters. In Taku City in Saga Prefecture, TrueBizon is working with the local government to improve life in the community by creating 12 sky roads to solve local issues, including disaster prevention roads, and medicine roads.

Remote medical treatment and the secure sharing of data and information are helping Nagasaki Prefecture, which has an aging population and a large number of remote islands. Telehealth startup Integrity Healthcare is using AWS to provide online medical consultation and disease management services. This solution is connected to the Regional Medical Collaboration Network, a platform for medical institutions in Nagasaki Prefecture. This helps doctors provide optimal medical care while reviewing patient data and information, during consultations and in patients’ everyday lives, helping to improve the quality of medical care. In addition, the solution enables medical practitioners to deliver medication to remote islands using drones, and specialist doctors to relay advice online to general practitioners to better care for patients with diseases requiring specialized treatment.

Working with Partners to accelerate digital transformation

AWS also works with a wide range of local partners in government, education, healthcare, and smart cities to support local digital transformation and better serve citizens.

Heptagon is an AWS-only cloud integrator and an Advanced AWS Consulting Partner in Japan. The company is helping Misawa City in Aomori Prefecture digitize its immigration consultation process on the cloud, and provides information to prospective immigrants through interactive exchanges using an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that does not rely on physical infrastructure or manpower. With the use of this chatbot, Misawa City achieved a 10-fold increase in inquiries about immigration and relocation.

Nurturing digital skills development

To realize the potential of the cloud, a digitally-trained workforce is essential to solve local societal problems and improve citizen services. Yet, the digital workforce shortage in Japan is acute, according to a recent report by AlphaBeta. 78% of Japanese workers say they need more digital skills to cope with changes in their jobs due to COVID-19, but less than one-fifth of all companies and organizations have a digital skills training plan in place. To accelerate the development of digital talent, Amazon committed to investing hundreds of millions of dollars to provide free cloud computing skills training to 29 million people by 2025. As of October 2022, Amazon has already helped over 13 million people gain cloud skills. AWS also offers AWS Skill Builder, an online learning center for acquiring highly in-demand cloud skills, and the AWS Skills Guild, a comprehensive skills enablement program that builds cloud fluency across any organization.

Starting in 2022, AWS has launched a monthly training program for local governments in Japan to support them in developing digital skills in their organizations. The program includes a systematic learning curriculum ranging from lectures on basic cloud knowledge to hands-on practical use of AWS for free.

Kobe City, which is participating in Advance Government Cloud Projects, is a pioneer in migrating mission-critical operations to AWS-based government cloud ahead of other municipalities. To fully utilize cloud services and promote administrative digital transformation, Kobe City has adopted AWS training and certification to develop digitally-trained employees.

AWS also promotes support for the future digital workforce through AWS Academy, which helps students prepare for careers in cloud computing through higher education institutions. AWS Academy provides higher education institutions with a free, ready-to-teach cloud computing curriculum that prepares students to pursue industry-recognized certifications and in-demand cloud jobs. So far, we have developed training in curriculum at more than 100 institutions of higher education in Japan.

Bringing all together to boost innovation

AWS continues to support national and local governments, customers, startups, and partners active in the community, as they leverage the cloud to solve pressing societal challenges. Learn more about AWS in Japan.

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