Japan aims to build 'one-stop' online public service system by FY 2013+

TOKYO, July 6 Kyodo -
Japan plans to build by fiscal 2013 an online portal allowing citizens ''one
stop'' access to a wide range of public services, the government's IT Strategic
Headquarters said Monday.

The system will have an online, high-security ''post-office box'' that citizens
can use to manage personal information online, such as checking the record of
their payments into the public pension program and obtaining a copy of a
residency certificate, it said.
The system is a midterm goal of the headquarters' ''i-Japan strategy'' which is
to run through 2015.
The headquarters was set in 2001 to establish an information technology-based
society. With the prime minister at the helm, the headquarters has all Cabinet
ministers and selected experts as members.
Under the strategy, the government has promoted developing online public
services, dubbed ''e-government,'' but has fallen behind its target for turning
that vision into reality.
''Some matters (regarding the strategy) straddle the responsibilities of more
than one Cabinet minister, but I hope the members implement necessary steps
with a steady and expeditious manner,'' Prime Minister Taro Aso was quoted as
telling the members.
The headquarters also said it will aim at further development of techniques for
remote health care services that doctors could perform on patients in distant
areas, relying on online networks.
It also aims at improving children's information-gathering skills through the
Internet.
==Kyodo