Open data - third in the world

 ■ Open data - third in the world

I am a group leader for one of VLED’s committees.

The Cabinet Secretariat IT Strategy Office, MIC, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), the Keidanren, NTT, KDDI, Fujitsu, NEC, Hitachi, IBM, Microsoft, Dentsu, etc.

At the Council for Investments in the Future, Prime Minister Abe announced that he would “forcefully pursue” open data and nominated the time until 2020 as a period for intensive implementation. He went so far as to say in a policy speech to the Diet that “the default is that government data should be disclosed and open to the private sector.”

The Government’s IT Strategy Office reviewed what data it held, discovering 955 statistical data sets. Of these, it released 46% as open data, and a further 40% as partially open data.

On the other hand, the goal of reaching 100% implementation for local governments within two years was set. However, as of the end of last year, only 17% had been achieved. According to MIC, when it asked local governments why they have problems with working on open data, 62% replied that the benefits and outcomes are unclear, and 48% replied that they lacked human resources. I understand that they are conducting training for local government officials as well as serving as an intermediary and source of consultation between local governments and businesses.

I heard about a smartphone app that shares school lunch menus. Mothers can check the app at the supermarket to ensure they don’t make the same menu for dinner. What an eye opener - this is data that mothers can check on their smartphones every day. Creating an open data policy that has users in mind is important.

Some have complained that this app does not take into account what the father had for lunch; other female participants said that their children should eat what they are given even if it is the same as they had for school lunch. The difficulties are obvious. Open data is not simple to achieve.

In international data openness rankings, Japan scored 14th in the OECD in 2014, but had risen to third place in 2016. South Korea is 1st and France 2nd.

In 2012 when I began working on these matters, I threw down the gauntlet to reach top spot. We are now in sight of that goal.