{"id":6931,"date":"2021-04-24T07:29:11","date_gmt":"2021-04-24T07:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/?p=6931"},"modified":"2021-04-24T07:33:02","modified_gmt":"2021-04-24T07:33:02","slug":"slow-digitization-in-the-pandemic-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/slow-digitization-in-the-pandemic-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Slow Digitization in the Pandemic Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_6932\" style=\"width: 296px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6932\" class=\" wp-image-6932\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/fax-150062_1280-350x242.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"286\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/fax-150062_1280-350x242.png 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/fax-150062_1280-1024x709.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/fax-150062_1280-768x532.png 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/fax-150062_1280.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 286px) 100vw, 286px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-6932\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/openclipart-vectors-30363\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=150062\">OpenClipart-Vectors<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=150062\">Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>When is your last time to send or receive something via fax? I would say it was well over 10 years ago?\u00a0But the facsimile culture (\u6587\u5316 bunka) is very much alive in Japan.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This Twitter tweet describes the core of the problem why Japan has been moving so slowly when it comes to the COVID-19.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u3010\u624b\u66f8\u304d\u2025\u3011<\/p>\n<p>\u3082\u3046\u6b62\u3081\u3088\u3046\u3088\u2025\u3002\u624b\u66f8\u304d\u306e\u767a\u751f\u5c4a\u2025\u3002\u7d50\u6838\u3067\u935b\u3048\u3089\u308c\u305f\u304b\u3089\u66f8\u304f\u306e\u901f\u3044\u3051\u3069\u3055\u2025\u3002\u3082\u3046\u6b62\u3081\u3088\u3046\u3088\u2025\u3002\u624b\u66f8\u304d\u306e\u767a\u751f\u5c4a\u2025\u3002\u30b3\u30ed\u30ca\u3082\u624b\u66f8\u304d\u3067FAX\u2025\u3002\u3082\u3046\u6b62\u3081\u3088\u3046\u3088\u2025\u3002\u624b\u66f8\u304d\u306e\u767a\u751f\u5c4a\u2025\u3002\u3053\u3093\u306a\u3093\u662d\u548c\u3067\u3059\u3088\u2025\u3002\u3082\u3046\u6b62\u3081\u3088\u3046\u3088\u2025\u3002\u624b\u66f8\u304d\u306e\u767a\u751f\u5c4a\u2025\u3002\u8ab0\u304b\u5927\u304d\u306a\u58f0\u3067\u6307\u6458\u3057\u3066\u3088\u2025\u3002\u624b\u66f8\u304d\u2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nrR6ZvoiMT\">pic.twitter.com\/nrR6ZvoiMT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; \u30ad\u30e5\u30fc\u30c8\u5148\u751f?\u7530\u4e2d \u5e0c\u5b87\u4eba (@cutetanaka) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cutetanaka\/status\/1253084766041038848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 22, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A doctor (\u533b\u8005 isha) must fill out a form designated by a local health center (\u4fdd\u5065\u6240 hokenjo) if a patient (\u60a3\u8005 kanja) needs to be tested or has been infected with COVID-19.\u00a0 And s\/he must fax it.\u00a0 Later in 2020,\u00a0 some municipalities started to use an online form.\u00a0 But the case required two city workers to sit next to each other \u2013 one sat in front of a monitor and read what the form said, while the other employee checked for accuracy from the other documents. It was almost a comedy, sadly.\u00a0Japan ranks a respectable 36<sup>th\u00a0<\/sup>out of 17 OECD member countries as far as the number of PCR tests is concerned.<\/p>\n<p>These posed an additional burden (\u91cd\u8377 omoni) to already overworked medical staff and city employees.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6936\" style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6936\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6936\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/\u5370\u9451\u30b5\u30a4\u30ba.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"230\" height=\"211\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-6936\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image created by author.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>When the first declaration of a state of emergency started, many companies requested their workers to \u2018work at home\u201d except when a personal report to the office was required to press his\/her \u201chanko\u201d (\u30cf\u30f3\u30b3) to documents for approval.\u00a0 Every official document in Japan requires a hanko.<\/p>\n<p>While I am writing this, Taro Kono, Minister for Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform (\u884c\u653f\u6539\u9769\u62c5\u5f53\u5927\u81e3 gyousei kaikaku tanto daijin) under Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, spoke about this fax culture.He said that employees had to come to the office to send and receive faxes even during the declaration of a state of emergency, and that several foreign counterparts had jokingly told him, \u201ca device called facsimile found in our museum are still seen and used widely in your country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kono has been working to eliminate the hanko culture since his assignment to the position.\u00a0 However, as you can guess, there have been and will be many oppositions (\u53cd\u5bfe hantai) to his ideas, and he has not announced any particular dates.\u00a0 However, these are steps in the right direction. Personally, I do not dislike the hanko culture as the Japanese society does not trust signatures as I experienced painfully.\u00a0 Both hanko and signatures need to be allowed, hopefully in their digital forms.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6937\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6937\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6937\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/monitor-1307227_1920-350x247.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/monitor-1307227_1920-350x247.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/monitor-1307227_1920-1024x723.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/monitor-1307227_1920-768x542.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/monitor-1307227_1920-1536x1084.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/monitor-1307227_1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-6937\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/geralt-9301\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1307227\">Gerd Altmann<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1307227\">Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>It takes the pandemic to make the Japanese realize that something must be changed.\u00a0 The Suga Administration has forced the Digital Agency to accelerate (\u52a0\u901f\u3055\u305b\u308b kasokusaseru) Japan\u2019s digitalization effort.\u00a0 It may be difficult for some of you to believe that many things are done manually and by Japan Post.<\/p>\n<p>Japan has just started to inoculate (\u63a5\u7a2e\u3059\u308bsesshusuru) seniors.\u00a0 Coupons for vaccination are delivered to a municipality by trucks and municipal workers go over each box looking for persons who have moved out of the municipality BY HAND.\u00a0 Then the coupons are mailed.\u00a0 Those who received the coupon call\/register online to reserve a spot \u2013 first come first serve (\u5148\u7740\u9806 senchakujun).\u00a0 There was a news report that about 150 seniors personally came to the city hall as they could not connect with the phone number provided.<\/p>\n<p>Are you frustrated (\u30a4\u30e9\u30a4\u30e9\u3059\u308b irairasuru) yet?\u00a0 I am!\u00a0 How have you been inoculated in your country?\u00a0Of course, the main problem is a lack of vaccines in Japan and the unpredictable future supply.\u00a0 But another problem is a lack of digitalization to manage and cross-reference information. \u00a0Many things must be done manually.\u00a0 Maybe that is a way to keep the unemployment rate low.\u00a0 As of 4\/19\/2021, only 0.96% of those in Japan have gotten the first vaccine.\u00a0This is the 131st out of 182 countries. You can read about <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.co.jp\/byline\/takahashikosuke\/20210420-00233541\/\">the COVID-19 data and analysis<\/a> in Japan.<\/p>\n<p>Japan did not have an equivalent of (\u540c\u69d8\u306e doyono) social security numbers for their aversion to ( \u301c\u3078\u306e\u5acc\u60aa\u611f\u301ceno kenokan) using a number to refer to an individual, and their fear of privacy. \u201cMy Number Card\u201d (\u30de\u30a4\u30ca\u30f3\u30d0\u30fc\u30ab\u30fc\u30c9mai nanbaa ka-do) was introduced in 2016 to speed up the digitalization of government business.\u00a0 The government made My Number a requirement to get COVID assistance funds in 2020 to promote (\u4fc3\u9032\u3059\u308b sokushinsuru) enrollment.\u00a0 But many forgot their online activation credentials and they had to personally go to the city hall and wait for up to 2 hours to get the new credentials during the emergency declaration.\u00a0 Even now, only 26% of the population has obtained it.<\/p>\n<p>So lack of digitization is not only the government\u2019s fault but also the residents\u2019 lack of responsibility. There are many wonderful things living in japan, but there are as many inconveniences or things which make you wonder if you are from a country that is highly digitalized.\u00a0 If you are planning to go there to Study Abroad or to live there, just be prepared to get frustrated sometimes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"230\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/04\/\u5370\u9451\u30b5\u30a4\u30ba.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><p>When is your last time to send or receive something via fax? I would say it was well over 10 years ago?\u00a0But the facsimile culture (\u6587\u5316 bunka) is very much alive in Japan. &nbsp; This Twitter tweet describes the core of the problem why Japan has been moving so slowly when it comes to the&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/slow-digitization-in-the-pandemic-japan\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":6936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,179,122,505759],"tags":[510876,548084,548088,548089,550873],"class_list":["post-6931","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-news","category-politics","category-vocabulary","tag-covid-19","tag-digitalization","tag-fax","tag-hanko","tag-vaccination"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6931"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6946,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6931\/revisions\/6946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}