VZCZCXRO7764
PP RUEHCHI RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHPB
DE RUEHKO #0657/01 0830525
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 240525Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1727
INFO RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION PRIORITY
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 1623
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 2385
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 6473
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 2260
RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA PRIORITY 3126
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA PRIORITY 0870
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA PRIORITY 5466
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE PRIORITY 6918
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO PRIORITY 3666
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 000657 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EEB/CIP AND EAP/J 
STATE PASS USTR FOR EHOLLOWAY, JMCHALE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ECPS EINT PGOV TINT JA
SUBJECT: JAPANESE INFO-TECH STIMULUS PLAN 
 
REF: TOKYO 476 
 
TOKYO 00000657  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The GOJ has released for public comment a 
draft IT stimulus plan, which focuses on near-term 
objectives, as well as new ideas.  Major challenges such as 
digitizing government information and deploying IT 
infrastructure to the healthcare community represent 
significant business opportunities, and U.S. businesses are 
keenly interested.  Senior Japanese policy makers also 
actively reached out to the American Chamber of Commerce 
(ACCJ) for substantive inputs prior to public release of the 
draft plan.  End summary. 
 
Using the Economic Downturn to Advance Needed IT Measures 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Economic stimulus recently has been the focus of 
considerable public debate and there are several different 
plans proposing measures to do so.  One such plan is the New 
Strategy 3-year Emergency Plan (draft), which the government 
recently released for public comment.  Drafted by an advisory 
body to the IT Strategy Headquarters (ITSH), the plan draws 
from previous GOJ IT Strategic Plans and seeks to focus on 
practical near-term objectives, according to ITSH Counselor 
Toru Yamauchi. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The plan outlines measures in the areas of: 
e-government, healthcare, environment, and knowledge and 
content industries, and seeks economic and social benefits by 
promoting greater adoption and utilization of IT technologies 
and the Internet economy.  Despite the opportunity for change 
presented by the current economic downturn, Yamauchi noted 
the challenges associated with advancing measures that 
require agreement across a range of stakeholders. 
 
Proposed IT Stimulus Measures 
----------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) One priority identified by both the GOJ and U.S. 
business is Healthcare IT.  The plan proposes using core 
local hospitals to establish an IT backbone through which the 
larger healthcare community can interact.  This would mean 
funding to expand on existing systems and, more importantly, 
dealing with the challenges of digitizing patient records, 
assuring interoperability, supporting deployment, training 
healthcare providers, and adequately protecting patient 
information. 
 
¶5. (U) The 2008 political scandal concerning over 50 million 
lost pension records was but one high-profile case supporting 
the need for change.  While not actually lost, the records 
were garbled, keeping administrators from matching records 
with beneficiaries.  As Japan worries about the future of its 
graying society, reforms such as these represent both an 
economic opportunity and a social imperative. 
 
¶6. (U) Another priority is e-government, an umbrella for 
changes to both central and local governments.  The plan 
proposes, for example, establishing a central government 
"'Kasumigaseki' IT cloud."  Drafters advocate ministries 
moving toward using common IT infrastructure, sharing not 
only hardware and applications but also some information. 
This could provide huge potential savings, improve 
coordination and transparency, and provide the public with a 
single window to government services.  Key elements of the 
proposal would include digitizing government information to a 
common format, as well as creating an electronic post office 
through which citizens can receive public notices and 
interact with ministries. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The plan openly acknowledges major challenges to the 
proposal, including digitization, accessibility, and 
utilization.  Digitization represents not only the daunting 
technical task of digitizing and organizing mountains of 
public information, but the political difficulties of 
agreeing on common formats, and taking control of information 
out of the hands of multiple layers of bureaucrats.  Another 
 
TOKYO 00000657  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
obstacle is the Japanese public's concern over privacy, a 
major reason Japan's citizens still do not have a single 
national ID.  Given anticipated resistance, implementing the 
plan will likely require external pressure from the public 
and industry. 
 
¶8. (U) Japan would also like to promote new industries, in 
particular environmental and knowledge-creation industries. 
Specific recommendations include promoting 
environmentally-friendly data centers and Intelligent 
Transport Systems.  The report notes business opportunities 
associated with digitizing local government information, and 
distributing digital content and advertising in 
transportation systems and public facilities.  Japanese 
commuters are already a captive audience for advertising on 
trains and even in some taxis. 
 
Benefits from New IT Measures 
----------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) According to an estimate in the plan, an investment 
of 3 trillion yen into the programs outlined would generate 
400,000-500,000 new jobs.  Yamauchi advised ITSH is seeking 
support for some of these measures also from other groups, 
such as the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP), 
looking at possible stimulus measures. 
 
¶10. (SBU) While GOJ outreach to U.S. business for inputs is 
positive, and U.S. business is very interested in prospective 
commercial opportunities, it remains unclear to what extent 
foreign firms may benefit.  Historically, Japanese firms have 
enjoyed most of the advantages from such programs, but 
implicit in this plan is the expectation that Japan must 
adjust to new ways of doing business in order to achieve the 
desired economic benefits. 
ZUMWALT