special feature
Support for
Community
Revitalization
Promoting improved operational efficiency and digital transformation in administrative services for local governments
vol.02
Today, many local governments face the issues of depopulation, shrinking local economies, falling
tax revenue, and delays in digitalization. This makes it difficult for them to maintain current
levels of administrative services. It has even been said that as many as 896 rural
municipalities—about one-half of the national total—face the threat of extinction as the rate of
young women within their populations will drop below 50% by 2040.
Amid demands for reforms in administrative services, S-Pool Glocal, Inc. launched services to
provide the operations of multiple local governments under contract in 2021 by leveraging our
strengths in hiring and using digital technologies to support community revitalization. These
services do not just create new employment in local communities, but help rectify regional
disparities by supporting the digital transformation (DX) of local governments and providing
highly user-friendly administrative services.
Usage rate of online services for administrative services offered by local governments
47.5%
(FY2019)
Helping to cut administrative operational costs and improve operational efficiency
To improve administrative services, we focused on operations common to all local governments. We offer shared BPO* centers that improve administrative operational efficiency by consolidating such operations. By consolidating certain operations of multiple adjoining local governments, chiefly among provincial cities with populations of 100,000 or fewer, we make it possible to provide the operations of smaller local governments under contract, something considered a significant challenge until now.
* BPO: Business process outsourcing
Making administrative procedures more convenient by providing them at nearby shopping centers
Across Japan, numerous local governments offer administrative contact points only at government offices. In response, we began operating Minnano Su Mado contact points to make administrative procedures more convenient. They are shared administrative contact points located inside shopping centers, where numerous local residents congregate. These contact points allow residents to complete procedures with multiple nearby local governments. They also provide services on weekday evenings and weekends and provide both in-person and online consultations. They improve not just convenience for local residents but help promote DX and eliminate the digital divide* for local governments.
* Digital divide: Informational disparities between people who can access and use the Internet and computers and those who cannot
Striving to stimulate local economies and realize community development suited to the times
In addition to providing quality public services, local governments need to build structures capable
of adapting flexibly to issues their communities face.
We help both rural and urban local
governments improve their administrative services to suit the changing needs of the times. Together
with active proposals and implementation of IT infrastructures that help realize the visions for the
future of local governments, in cooperation with local businesses, we seek to achieve solutions to
issues through initiatives with deep roots in the community.
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We count on S-Pool Glocal as a partner in solving the social issues faced by our government
The city of Daisen (Akita Prefecture) is advancing administrative reforms and DX initiatives
to realize sustainable administrative services while promoting community development that
leverages digital technologies. In 2021, as part of these efforts, we opened a smart local
government counter (Minnano Su Mado) at a retail facility in the city in cooperation with
S-Pool Glocal. I believe this initiative has made the lives of residents more convenient by
providing administrative services without the need for a visit to city hall.
In the future, we expect to enhance this alliance with S-Pool Glocal as a first rate partner
in solving various social issues facing our government while examining and verifying ways to
operate administrative contact points in the future through such BPO services.
Hiroyuki Oimatsu Mayor of Daisen City
