Morisawa held an online seminar entitled "From 'Communicating' to 'Being Communicated' - The COVID-19 Pandemic Accelerating the Digitalization of Local Government Information Dissemination" over two days, August 20th and 27th, 2021.  

During the COVID-19 pandemic, information sent out by local governments is receiving more attention and importance than ever before. For this reason, it is important to create information that can be "communicated" to each and every resident, rather than just "communicated" by local governments. 

Over the two days, local government officials were invited as guests to speak on the two themes of "COVID-19 Pandemic" and "DX," including how to deliver vaccination and disaster prevention information, and examples of the use of social media and digital tools. (Article by Morisawa's Nitano Ryosuke) 

Along with each seminar report, you can also watch archived videos from the day.

*Registration is required to watch videos. 

This is a report on the second day. Day 1 

Part 1 Keynote speech
Information dissemination by local governments and utilization of digital transformation 

Lecturer: Visiting Researcher, Waseda University Manifesto Research Institute / Local Government Public Relations Advisor / 
　　　　Tomoyuki Sakuma, Representative Director, PRDESIGN JAPAN Co., Ltd.

Mr. Sakuma is currently a fiscal year appointed employee of Nakano Ward, and is therefore also a local government employee. Drawing on his past experience and his current perspective as an advisor, he gave a clear explanation of the digital transformation of local government information dissemination, which is accelerating amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the keynote speech on August 27th, the concept and benefits of DX (Digital Exchange) were shared, and examples from local governments were introduced. He advised that the key to thinking about public relations using digital data is the "5 S's," and that it is important to get people to "empathize with the story." 

① What is DX? 
② Examples of DX utilization and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' definition 
3) Digital public relations using data 
④ Dealing with diversifying information dissemination and utilizing grants 
⑤ AISAI, SIPS, and the Five "S"s 
⑥ Summary 

Part 2: Panel Discussion
Future information dissemination using SNS and DX 

Guest: Yoshihiro Jinbo, Press and Public Relations Division, Adachi Ward, Tokyo
　　　　Kenichi Sekino, Policy Secretary Division, Namegata City, Ibaraki Prefecture
Coordinator: Tomoyuki Sakuma

With Mr. Sakuma as coordinator, we spoke with two public relations officers from two local governments who are taking cutting-edge approaches and utilizing them to disseminate government information, and they shared some ideas that will be useful and practical for viewers of this program. 

Yoshihiro Jinbo, Press and Public Relations Division, Adachi Ward, Tokyo

As part of its city promotion efforts, the city aims to make residents proud of their town, and believes that improving information dissemination is important to achieve this, and is actively undertaking new initiatives to ensure that information is easily communicated. 

As a result of steadily promoting the ward from within, based on the idea that it is up to each and every employee to disseminate information, there has been a change in the feelings of the ward's residents, with the number of residents who answered "I am proud of my ward" rising to 53.4% in annual opinion polls.

Adachi Ward is working to promote information dissemination, believing that it can change people's minds and serve as a catalyst for taking action.

He analyzed the merits of both analog and digital tools as a means of disseminating information, and discussed whether the tools are linked together. He introduced Katapoke because he wanted to reach out to younger generations and foreigners, and cited the log analysis function, which is a feature of digital tools, as a benefit. 

He says that in the future, the challenge for public relations and public hearings will be to engage in activities based on digital data analysis and evidence.

Kenichi Sekino, Policy Secretary Division, Namegata City, Ibaraki Prefecture

The city has launched the "Number One in Japan for Information Dissemination Project" to encourage each and every citizen to take pride in their community and become a source of information, and is strategically working to disseminate information about its various attractions. In 2017, the city also began disseminating information through the digitization and multilingualization of its city newsletter, a first in the prefecture. In 2019, the city also became the first in the country to introduce "Universal Font" to the administrative and educational fields, and it is now being used throughout the city and in schools. 

As part of Namegata City's efforts to disseminate information, the city digitized its newsletter with the aim of disseminating information to younger generations, foreigners, and people both within and outside of Japan, as well as sharing information with residents and fostering civic pride. Katapoke was introduced as a tool to address these issues. It is also an advanced initiative, distributing a truly diverse range of content. Furthermore, we were introduced to examples of collaboration with social media and results demonstrating its effectiveness. 

Finally, he said that smartphones and tablets are popular among a wide range of age groups, and that he would like to continue efforts to enable people to enjoy the benefits of digital technology. 

We recommend watching the archived video of the Q&A session to hear what the two speakers had to say.