Digital Minister Kono's press conference (April 28, 2023)
Minister Kono shares some remarks on his expectations for the G7 meeting.
Summary of Digital Minister Kono's press conference
April 28th, 2023 (Friday) from 9:10 to 9:20 (online)
Summary of remarks
Finally, the G7 Digital and Tech Ministers' Meeting in Takasaki-Gunma will be held tomorrow. This will be the first G7 meeting hosted by the Digital Agency in Japan.
We have been making various preparations for the G7 meeting, including business trips to the U.S. and Europe in January. After coordinating with each country, I am pleased that we are finally able to hold the G7 meeting. I would also like to thank Gunma Prefecture, Takasaki City, and various local governments in Ikaho for their cooperation in hosting the meeting.
Before I arrive in Gunma today, there is the DX Summit, a public-private event organized by the World Economic Forum, which I will not be able to attend due to a committee meeting, so my avatar will be attending instead (Editor's note: The minister is referring to his robot avatar). At the ministerial meeting starting tomorrow, we would like to share our unity as the G7 on various issues in the digital field such as DFFT (Data Free Flow with Trust) and AI. The biggest achievement we should aim for this time is the realization of DFFT, for which a roadmap was adopted under the British presidency in 2021 and an action plan under the German presidency last year, and we have had sufficient discussions so far. Based on this, at this Ministerial Meeting, we would like to aim to agree on an international framework with a permanent secretariat to advance DFFT. Yesterday, I participated in a public-private meeting with digital industry organizations from Japan, the US, the UK, Canada, and the EU. The Tech7 organizations have shown a great deal of interest in and expectation towards the establishment of an international framework for the concrete implementation of DFFT. With the help of the private sector, we would like to implement specific projects under this framework in cooperation with the public and private sectors.
In order to expand DFFT to the international community, it is also important to strengthen our relationship with the Global South, and in addition to the G7 ministers, we will hold thorough discussions with representatives from India, the G20 chair this year, Indonesia, the ASEAN chair, and Ukraine, with which we signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) for cooperation the day before yesterday. We would like to expand DFFT related activities beyond the G7 to other countries that share our values.
Next, I would like to meet you all in Gunma.
In my capacity as Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, I would like to say that May is Consumer Month. The theme of this year's Consumer Month is "Comfortable through Digital, Consumer Lifestyle technique". The subtitle of this year's theme is "The Development of the Digital Society and Consumer Lifestyles".
During this Consumer Month in May, symposiums will be held to deepen understanding of the digitalization of consumer life and consumer issues, and various educational programs will be conducted by local governments and consumer organizations.
The Consumer Affairs Agency has designated May 18 as "Consumer Hotline 188 Day" to promote and raise awareness. We believe that it is very important for young people and elderly people who are prone to consumer troubles to know about "188" so that they can consult with us immediately if they encounter any troubles. If you encounter consumer trouble, or if you are around someone who is troubled by trouble, we would like you to call us at 188. We would also like to ask representatives of mass media to help us spread the word about this 188 number. (Editor's note: The hotline number 188 reads as i-ya-ya, a wordplay that sounds like someone saying "oh no!" )
On May 29, we are planning to hold an award ceremony for the Prime Minister's Commendation for Distinguished Service to Consumer Support. I am also planning to attend the ceremony.
As Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, yesterday, April 27, I received a consultation from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) regarding the draft assessment policy for applications to raise the regulated electricity rates.
So far, the Consumer Affairs Agency has asked METI to examine the impact of cartels, unauthorized viewing, and unauthorized use of electricity by electric power companies on electricity rates. I am aware that the answer was that it cannot be said that there is no impact, and that a quantitative evaluation is impossible. We have instructed the secretariat to provide a forum for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the ministry with jurisdiction over the matter, to summarize and explain its thinking and rationale regarding the impact of the fraud on rates, the cost structure of electric power companies, and the need for greater efficiency. We will respond to the consultation based on the explanation from METI. The secretariat will inform you of the details as soon as they are finalized.
Question and answer session
(Q) I would like to ask you just one question regarding the electric power fees. The Minister said that you will respond to the consultations, but there was a comment from a senior official that if the situation continues as it is, you may not be able to respond to the consultations. Is it correct to say that you will respond to the consultation itself, and that you will insist on the points that need to be insisted upon during the consultation?
(A) Yesterday, we had consultations, and based on the explanation from METI, we would like to take appropriate action while also seeking the knowledge of experts.
(Q) I would like to ask a question about the guidelines for electronic contract documents, etc. under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions, which were announced on March 21. The guideline states that sending a contract document as an attachment such as a PDF file via a short message service falls under this category, but on the other hand, it does not apply to cases where the document becomes inaccessible after period of less than 8 days, i.e. before the cooling-off period. However, if you send an attachment on line, you can view it for 8 days with an expiration date of 8 days, but it disappears on the 9th day. I asked at the Secretary's press conference yesterday if this applies, and he explained that it does not apply if the period is too short, but as a guideline, it is very unclear and difficult to understand. A contract document is no good if it disappears, so can you please write clearly that it does not fall under this category of something that would become unreadable if nothing is done?
(A) Sorry, I will let the office answer later.
This is a translation of https://www.digital.go.jp/speech/minister-230428-01/
