E-application (電子申請) is a system for filing applications and notifications with government agencies over the internet instead of visiting a counter.
Create application data on screen
Attach proof of identity if required
Send over the internet
The agency receives and processes it
The agency accepts the data and handles it just as it would papers received at the counter.
4 / 4
Tax returns and various notifications can be completed without being tied to office hours or locations, and the government spends less effort receiving and keying in papers. One way for individuals to prove their identity online is the Public Certification Service for Individuals (公的個人認証). It is a mechanism that confirms the applicant's identity with an electronic certificate (電子証明書) issued by a public body.
AnalogyIt is as if the government office's reception counter moved online, so you can hand in papers from home.
Exam points
ExamBefore 2016, the electronic certificate of the Public Certification Service for Individuals (公的個人認証) used to verify identity in e-application (電子申請) was stored on the Basic Resident Register card (住民基本台帳カード) issued by municipalities.
E-procurement (電子調達) lets national and local governments carry out over a network the procedures for ordering public works, goods, and services.
E-procurement (the whole procurement process)
Publishing procurement information
Submitting and opening bids
Contract procedures
It digitizes the chain of tasks from the procurement notice to the contract, making the work more efficient and the procedures more transparent. Businesses can look up procurement information and take part without going to a government office.
AnalogyIt resembles a company's purchasing department handling everything from requesting quotes to placing orders with suppliers online.
Exam points
Mix-upIn e-application (電子申請), citizens or businesses file and the government receives and processes; in e-procurement (電子調達), the government is the buyer of works, goods, and services, so its position differs between the two.
E-tendering (電子入札) is a system for submitting and opening bids over the internet in tenders for public works, goods, and services.
Check the tender notice
Submit the bid online
Open the bids in the system
Decide the winning bidder
The winning business is decided according to the set criteria.
4 / 4
A tender is a method of having several businesses present prices and other terms, then choosing the contract partner from among them. With digitization, businesses no longer need to travel to a venue, and the government has less work receiving and opening bids.
AnalogyInstead of gathering in a hall to hand in envelopes, you drop your quote into an online box before the deadline.
How to rememberThe Japanese word for bidding, nyusatsu, literally means "putting in a slip." Dropping paper slips into a box has given way to submitting online.
Exam points
Mix-upE-procurement (電子調達) covers the whole procurement process from notice to contract, while e-tendering (電子入札) digitizes the bidding and bid-opening stage within it.
E-procurement vs. E-tendering (electronic bidding)
Aspect
E-procurement
E-tendering (electronic bidding)
Key differenceScope
The whole procurement process from notice to contract
The stage within it where bids are submitted and opened
My Number (マイナンバー) is the 12-digit Individual Number (個人番号) assigned to each person who has a resident record.
The municipal mayor assigns the number and notifies the person, and it is used to link accurately the information several government agencies hold about the same person. This aims to streamline administrative procedures and make benefits and burdens fair. The tasks for which My Number may be used are set out in the My Number Act (the Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify a Specific Individual in Administrative Procedures).
AnalogySeveral government counters each keep your papers, yet a shared reference number lets them match up the papers that belong to the same person.
How to remember"My Number" is a nickname; the formal legal name is "Individual Number."
Exam points
ExamUnder the My Number Act when use began in 2016, administrative procedures using My Number (マイナンバー) were limited to three areas: social security, taxation, and disaster response.
ExamMy Number (マイナンバー) in principle stays the same for life. It is changed only as an exception, when it is judged to have leaked and to be at risk of misuse.
The municipality issues it on the person's application, with the name, address, photo, and other details on the front and the My Number on the back. In person it serves as proof of identity, and online the holder proves who they are through the Public Certification Service for Individuals with the certificate on the IC chip.
AnalogyIt is a photo ID and an electronic key to online procedures rolled into one card.
Exam points
Mix-upMy Number (マイナンバー) is the number itself, assigned to everyone with a resident record, whereas the My Number Card (マイナンバーカード) is an IC card issued on application, and whether to hold one is the person's choice.
The My Number Portal (マイナポータル) is a government-run online service (オンラインサービス) for individuals, used mainly by logging in with the My Number Card.
In one place, users can check records of their information being exchanged between government agencies, receive notices from the government, and file e-applications on matters such as child-rearing. When logging in with the card, identity is verified with the electronic certificate on the IC chip.
AnalogyIt is the "my page" for government procedures. Sign in with the card, and your own screen lets you apply and check information.
How to rememberA portal is a grand main entrance. Read the name as the entrance to government services, and it matches the role.
Exam points
Mix-upThe My Number Card (マイナンバーカード) is a physical item for identity verification, while the My Number Portal (マイナポータル) is the online counter you enter with that card: one is a thing, the other a service.
The emergency alert (緊急速報) is a system for broadcasting (一斉配信) disaster information, such as on earthquakes and tsunamis, and evacuation information to every mobile phone in a target area at once.
JMA, national or local government issues information
Mobile carriers' networks
Mobile phones in the target area
Every compatible device in that area receives the notice at the same time.
3 / 3
Using mobile carriers' networks, it delivers messages such as the Japan Meteorological Agency's earthquake early warnings and tsunami warnings, and local governments' evacuation information. Any compatible device in the target area receives them, with no advance registration by the user.
AnalogyIt is like an alarm bell ringing in everyone's hand at the same moment. It reaches the people in the area without knowing who is there.
J-Alert (Jアラート) is the nationwide instantaneous alert system (全国瞬時警報システム) that relays national emergency information, such as ballistic missile warnings and earthquake early warnings, to residents in an instant through various channels.
The national government issues emergency information
Sent via satellite and other links to municipalities in the target area
Outdoor loudspeakers and other channels start automatically
Delivered to residents
Residents hear the warning through outdoor loudspeaker broadcasts and other means.
4 / 4
Information sent by the national government via satellite and other links automatically activates municipal disaster-prevention administrative radio (防災行政無線; radio equipment local governments use to broadcast to residents) and similar systems. Because no time is spent waiting for staff to operate the equipment, warnings of danger go out sooner.
How to rememberThe J stands for Japan. Split the formal name, nationwide instantaneous alert system, into its three parts, and the role reads straight off the words.
Exam points
Mix-upThe emergency alert (緊急速報) is a mechanism that broadcasts to every mobile phone in a target area, while J-Alert (Jアラート) is a relay system that sends national emergency information to local government equipment and on to residents; their roles differ.
Emergency alert (urgent broadcast) vs. J-Alert (nationwide instantaneous alert system)
Aspect
Emergency alert (urgent broadcast)
J-Alert (nationwide instantaneous alert system)
Key differenceRole
A mechanism that broadcasts to every mobile phone in a target area
A relay system that sends national emergency information to local government equipment and on to residents
How they relate
Also one of the ways J-Alert information reaches mobile phones
Uses the emergency alert as one of its channels
Key points
One way for individuals to prove their identity in online procedures is the electronic certificate of the Public Certification Service for Individuals (公的個人認証).
My Number is a number for linking information about the same person across government agencies, and the tasks it may be used for are set by the My Number Act.
On the My Number Portal, users log in mainly with the card's electronic certificate and can handle procedures and check their own information in one place.
Broadcasts of disaster information to mobile phones are designed to reach recipients even if they have not registered in advance.