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Report on the
Planning Committee
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A planning committee was formed in
ECOM as a decision-making body for daily activities. Under
the cooperation of Komatsu Ltd. (ECOM board member), the fourth
planning committee was held at their Awazu Plant. After the
sessions, we made a tour of the plant, which is the field
site of the “RFID tags Pilot Project for FY 2004”
by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
< The Fourth Planning Committee ~November 30, 2005~>
The activity reports for the first
half of FY2005 were presented, including an overview of activities
by all WGs, objectives and progress of RFID Tags/Traceability
Special Committee, exchanged information at Information Security
SWG, activities at study meetings of the planning committee
toward diffusion of RFID tags, etc.
<Plant Tour>
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|
At Guesthouse of Awazu Plant, Komatsu Ltd. |
Mr. Yoshisada Takahashi, Awazu Plant
Manager, Production Division of Komatsu Ltd., greeted us,
saying “With the latest IT, we are trying to ‘Show
and Visualize’ the status of markets and productions.
Utilization of RFID tags is one of its key factors.”
Furthermore, Mr. Tooru Nakayama, Manager, Labor Section, Administration
Department of Komatsu Ltd., explained the history of the Awazu
Plant, including production of agricultural tractors and Japan’s
first bulldozers, adoption of QC (Quality Control) in the
wake of the Japanese market opening, as well as the efforts
toward their seventieth anniversary under the theme of “Go
for a Most Active Awazu in 2008.” Mr. Kazushi Mita,
Manager, Reforming Project Section, Planning Department of
Komatsu Ltd., explained the development of the “Progress
Management System for Assembling and Inspection” utilizing
RFID tags, which have advantages that barcodes don’t
have, such as “Durability,” “Weather Resistance”
and “Operability.” Those advantages were confirmed
in the “RFID Tags Field Pilot Project for FY2004 by
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry”. Afterward,
we toured around and saw a middle-sized construction machine
assembly line, a small-sized construction machine assembly
line (both are high-mix production lines), and a transmission
plant (workshop and inspection). Members of the ECOM planning
committee exchanged opinions with people in the plant regarding
manners of RFID tags utilization for production reform.
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Report on the
Progress of “Diffusion Promotion and Social Acceptability
Studies WG” |
Mr. Yasufumi Ishikawa,
Ph.D., Research Director of ECOM (RFID Tags/Traceability Special
Committee), makes a report on the progress of “Diffusion
Promotion and Social Acceptability Studies WG.”
The Diffusion Promotion
and Social Acceptability Studies WG consists of twenty members,
including four intellectuals and fourteen ECOM members. Mr.
Eijirou Aihara, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., serves
as the chair and Mr. Tsuneo Matsumoto, Professor, Graduate School
of Law, Hitotsubashi University, serves as an adviser of the
WG. The first WG meeting was held on August 5, 2005, and started
its activities for FY 2005.
|  1.
Objectives of the WG
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Before the full-fledged
introduction of RFID tags, we extract obstacles for its diffusion,
such as privacy issues for consumers. Once the obstacles are
clarified, we examine ways of eliminating those obstacles (or
lowering the level of barriers) systematically and technically.
To promote understanding of RFID tags, we also make an educational
website for consumers. Meanwhile, we examine methods which would
serve as useful references for companies to adopt RFID tags.
Through those activities, we promote RFID tags and their social
acceptability.
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| 2.
Three TFs (Task Forces) and One Survey |
To achieve the above-mentioned
objectives, we work on studies in three TFs and one survey.
(1) Privacy Protection Technology/Know-How Study TF (TF1)
The TF organizes technologies and know-how
for privacy protection along with the introduction of RFID tags,
such as kill tags, passwords, cryptography, blocking and authentication
of readers/writers. Based on the result, the TF conducts studies
on their application in consideration of real situations of
implementation and utilization of RFID tags.
(2) Consumer Educational Infrastructures Study TF (TF2)
The TF conducts studies on necessary
information to provide to consumers, such as a notification
mark and ways of notifying the use of RFID tags to consumers,
data elements stored in the tags, etc.
(3) Consumer Educational Website Study TF (TF3)
As one of the educational activities
for consumers, the TF is now working on setting up a website
to explain RFID tags in a way that is easy to understand. The
TF aims at making a worthwhile website which contains basic
knowledge of RFID tags, case examples, questions and answers,
etc.
(4) Field Survey of RFID Tags Introduction and Implementation
The field survey is conducted in twenty
companies, which have introduced and are implementing RFID tags.
Companies considering the introduction of RFID tags can refer
to the outcome of the survey. An objective of the survey is
to understand important points at their introduction and implementation,
common issues, and advantages of their introduction.
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| 3.
Progress |
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Each TF has held five meetings respectively,
and their discussions are getting more specific. The survey started
in the middle of October, and hearings are being conducted in
more companies.
(1) TF1
Organization of privacy protection technologies
and drawing up of road maps for RFID tags are completed. Application
and evaluation of the privacy protection technologies at each
situation, such as SCM (Supply Chain Management), 3R (Recycle/Reuse/Reduce),
etc., are at the final phase. The TF is now coordinating with
TF2.
(2) TF2
The TF categorized situations to use RFID
tags and studied privacy issues at each situation. Based on the
result, the relation between data elements in RFID tags and privacy
issues was discussed. The TF is also examining a notification
mark, including an over-the-counter logo.
(3) TF3
The configuration and contents of the
website are already fixed. In the title of the website, “Introduction
to IC Tags,” the word “IC” was decided on for
use rather than “RFID,” because IC cards have spread
among people, and they would find the word more familiar. Its
design concept is already decided on, and the website is now under
construction.
(4) Field Survey
Interviews have been completed in two
thirds of the companies. As we conduct the rest of the interviews
in the remaining one-third of the companies, we will follow up
with the companies whose interviews are already done, to develop
outcomes of the survey and analysis.
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| 4.
Future Developments |
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Studies of TF1 and TF2 are almost completed,
and they are now working on making drafts of their reports. TF3
is aiming at completing the preliminary version of the website
by the end of January 2006. It will be released only among ECOM
members and invite their opinions. Based on the opinions, further
improvements are expected. Each WG had been making a report individually,
but in this fiscal year, the WGs, which are under the umbrella
of the “RFID Tags/Traceability Special Committee,”
will work together to compile an integrated report. Therefore,
cross-reference and cooperating analyses with other WGs are important
in the “Field Survey”. In the future, we will make
further efforts not only to develop the outcome of our own activities,
but also to make the final report more worthwhile in coordination
with other WGs.
*This project was jointly
implemented by the Japan Information Processing Development Corporation
/ Electronic Commerce Promotion Center and the Next Generation
Electronic Commerce Promotion Council of Japan, as one of the
projects commissioned by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
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Report on the “Fifth
Joint Meeting of the Japan-Taiwan EC Promotion Committee” |
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Mr. Eiji Hamanaka, Secretary-General
of ECOM, makes a report on the above-mentioned meeting.
On December 13 (Tuesday), 2005, I attended
the “Fifth Joint Meeting of the Japan-Taiwan EC Promotion
Committee (Japan-Taiwan EC Meeting)” in The Ambassador
Hotel Taipei, in Taiwan, on behalf of the committee member,
Mr. Shoji Takedahara (Managing Director of ECOM).
 |
| Mr.
Kawamura, Chair, gave an opening address (Right person sitting:
Mr. Nishikawa, Deputy Director General) |
The committee was formed to study in
concrete form the necessary measures to achieve seamless e-commerce
between Japan and Taiwan. This meeting was the fifth (July 2001,
Taipei; July 2002, Tokyo; December 2003, Taipei; December 2004,
Tokyo). Approximately thirty participants attended the meeting
from Japan, including the Japan-Taiwan EC Committee members
(their deputies included), officials from the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry, lecturers, and Mr. Koji Matsukura, Managing
Director of the Interchange Association, Japan (IAJ), which
serves as the its secretariat in Japan. With participants from
Taiwan, approximately a hundred people attended the meeting.
On this day, following the greetings of the chairs from both
countries (Mr. Toshiro Kawamura, Senior Executive Vice President
and Member of the Board, NEC Corporation; Mr. Theodore M. H.
Huang, Chairman of the Board, TECO Group), Mr. Taizo Nishikawa,
Ph.D., Deputy Director General, Commerce and Information Policy
Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, and
Mr. Yen Shiang-Shih, Vice Minister, Ministry of Economic Affairs,
Taiwan, gave their greetings as representatives of both governments.
The presentations made at the meeting
are summarized below.
Following a report from Taiwan on outcomes
of one-year activities of the Japan-Taiwan EC Meeting, the political
policies of both countries were explained (Japan side; Mr. Kazuo
Yokota, Deputy Director for International Cooperation, Information
Policy Division, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau, Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry). After the explanations, reports
on “Coordination Meeting of Electronic Commerce Legal
Systems between Japan and Taiwan” were made (Japan side:
Mr. Kazuo Yoshida, Assistant Professor of Seiwa University).
In the reports, the suggestion to hold meetings twice a year,
starting next year, was made, and both chairs of the committees
agreed. Two lectures in the morning and six lectures in the
afternoon were given. At the last, ECOM explained the current
status of EC in Japan and Korea.
From Japan, the following reports were
made: “Current Status of ISMS in Japan” by Japan
Information Processing Development Corporation (JIPDEC), “Trends
Associated with Implementation of the Personal Information Protection
Act in Japan” by NEC Corporation, “International
XML/EDI Activities in the Travel Industry” by the EC Promotion
Organization for Travel Industry, and “Report of GBDe
Summit 2005” by NEC Corporation. From Taiwan, the following
reports were made: “Exchange of Electronic Certificates
of Origin between Japan and Taiwan” by Trade-Van Information
Services Co., “Cooperation Opportunities on RFID Application
and Technology Development between Japan and Taiwan” by
Industrial Technology Research Institute, “International
Micro Payments” by Chunghwa Telecom, and “Toward
a Trustworthy Electronic Business (On-line ADR)” by Taipei
Secure Online Shopping Association. Among them, the report,
“International XML/EDI Activities in the Travel Industry”
provoked keen interests from Taiwan, and coordination in concrete
form between related industries in the two countries is expected
in the future. Regarding the “Electronic Certificates
of Origin” suggested from the Taiwan side, the Japan side
commented that it should be promoted in accordance with the
trend of FTA and custom systems of each country. At the last,
I introduced the “Japan-Korea Electronic Commerce Promotion
Council,” for which ECOM serves as its secretariat in
Japan, including backgrounds of establishment, objectives, outline
of activities, implementation system, progress of the activities
and joint projects which have been conducted. The Taiwan side
showed their interest in the details of its activities.
The sixth Japan-Taiwan EC Meeting is
scheduled to be held in Japan in 2006, but the GBDe meeting
is going to be held in Taiwan. Therefore, the concerned organizations
will adjust the schedule and make the final decision.
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Outline of Lectures at the
“Fifth ECOM Seminar 2005”
~ Efforts for Consumer Protection toward Safe
and Secure EC and Recent Crimes Committed through Computer Networks
~ |
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On November 25 (Friday), 2005, a monthly
ECOM seminar was held under the above mentioned theme at the Kikai
Shinko Kaikan Building (Shibakoen, Minato-ku, Tokyo). On the day,
approximately 90 visitors including members and a general audience
attended the seminar. In this seminar, four lecturers gave presentations
under the theme of safety and security (“secure trading”
was the theme for the first part and “threats to the safety
of network environments” was the theme for the second part).
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| Lecture
1: “Toward Appropriate Internet Transactions by Consumers” |
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Ms. Kyoko Kashiwabara, Deputy Director, Consumer Policy Division
Commerce and Distribution Policy Group, Commerce and Information
Policy Bureau
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
Mail-order sales in our country have been
growing at an annual rate of 6% for the past five years. In particular,
the market of internet shopping has been drastically expanding.
TV shopping products are introduced and orders are accepted on
cell-phones and the Internet, and collaborative activities across
media barriers are being promoted. According to surveys on consumer
trends, people show a strong desire to make use of the Internet
and the number of online auction users has been increasing. Internet
transactions are no longer for a few special people, but have
started to take root in regular people’s lives.
“Anonymity” is pointed out
as one of the characteristics of the Internet, but the primary
characteristic of Internet transactions is that mediators play
a very major role. In real stores, transactions are completed
based on one-to-one relationships between stores and consumers.
However, many people and sites are involved in Internet transactions:
mall operators and auctioneers, and search sites and comparison
sites in relation to advertising. These days, affiliaters who
introduce products as individuals have joined the market. “Involvement
of many kinds of players” is a remarkable characteristic
of consumer transactions on the Internet.
From the viewpoint of consumer protection,
there are two kinds of risks with Internet transactions: the risk
of making decisions based on insufficient and inappropriate information
and the risk of being victims of frauds. Because it is easy to
enter the online marketplace, business persons who lack professionalism
are involved in Internet transactions and innocently provide insufficient
and inappropriate information to users. As a result of such behaviors,
consumers feel uneasy and all kinds of problems arise. Some consumers
are victimized by some malicious sellers who carry out frauds
and perform other similar criminal acts by making wrong use of
“anonymity”. One of the examples is that products
are not delivered to consumers although they have made payments.
Important measures to reduce consumers’
risks of making decisions based on insufficient and inappropriate
information are as follows: securing observance of labeling duties
under the Specified Trade Law, examining nature of advertisement
and labeling according to medium as well as roles of mediators,
and supporting for third-party problem-solving by private initiative.
What are also important as measures to reduce risks of being victims
of frauds and other similar criminal acts are the diffusion of
third-party identity verification of sellers and further reduction
of advanced payment risks. In consideration of increasing the
capacity of consumers including affiliaters to send information,
it is necessary to increase their awareness as sources to send
information. We hope that these efforts will contribute to the
development of mail-order sales by easing the concerns of consumers
about Internet transactions, even if only slightly. We will examine
laws and regulations if necessary, but we think that voluntary
efforts of business persons, environmental improvement, etc. are
important.
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Lecture 2: “New Problems and Roles of ADR in Consumer
Protection” |
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Ms. Yuri Harada, Senior Advisor, Internet Shopping Dispute
Consultation Office
Next Generation Electronic Commerce Promotion Council of Japan
Four years have passed since the Internet
Shopping Dispute Resolution Office started to operate for the
protection of consumers. We had few visitors for the first two
years because the office was not known well, but more people came
to consult with us for the latter two years because the office
became widely known. We have received nearly 5,000 inquiries up
to now. The most frequent troubles that were brought to us are
classified into the following types: with regard to transactions,
(1) undelivered products, (2) dissatisfaction with products and
(3) labeling mistakes with regard to services, and (1) disagreement
in the completion of contracts, (2) fictitious and unreasonable
billings and (3) service suspension .
If you look at the development of legal
systems from the perspective of consumer protection, rules on
electronic commerce reflects the latest status, so we refer to
them for providing consulting services.
We refer to the Civil Code when we receive
inquiries on issues such as mental abuses at auctions. The characteristics
of EC transactions that have emerged from consulted cases are
as follows: companies of any types from major companies to small
and medium-sized enterprises and sole proprietors can enter the
market; consumers can easily send information; consumers are not
sharply distinguished from business persons; transactions are
highly anonymous and beyond geographical distances; new business
models have come up; there are problems with borderless transactions;
and there are many kinds of settlement procedures.
We can list problems and countermeasures
that have emerged from representative cases as follows: (1) to
cope with troubles such as out-of-contact status of business persons
after all payments are made, it is indispensable for malls to
correctly understand the status of management of member stores;
(2) it is necessary to educate small business persons who lack
responsibility and professionalism, in cooperation with providers,
settlement business persons, etc.; (3) in case of troubles such
as unilateral cancellation of contracts, it is necessary for business
persons to collect sufficient evidence and to show respect for
users; (4) in overseas cases, because business partners may dislike
Japan, it is desirable to acquire linguistic skills, to avoid
transactions out of auctions, and to use means of settlement with
compensation, such as credit payments, as often as possible, etc.
We have provided services such as advice,
mediation, conciliation and arbitration based on our programs.
What we have understood by means of consulting services is that
there are many business persons without knowledge in the world
of Internet transactions. Many of them are innocent and are running
small businesses. I hope that they will acquire more knowledge
by making use of educational opportunities and positively managing
claims and that they will be continuously engaged in Internet
transactions.
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| Lecture
3: “The Latest Information on Domestic and Overseas
Phishing and Problems” |
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Mr. Futoshi Nakada, Chair, Information-Gathering & Providing
WG
Council of Anti Phishing Japan
The Council of Anti Phishing Japan has
established a site for reporting phishing mails and damages, providing
consulting services, and disclosing information on phishing sites
and new phishing techniques (http://www.antiphishing.jp/).
According to a report by a U.S. research
firm, “the global damage caused by phishing amounted to
approximately 264 billion yen in 2003 alone”. This year,
a Japanese bank suffered a loss of approximately 1.5 million yen
in total. Consumers are victimized in the following ways: (1)
leakage and wrongful use of account information for card counterfeiting
and (2) cash remittance and financing by using credit card numbers
that are obtained by fraud. Companies are also victimized in the
following ways: (1) increase in cost for procedures for reopening
accounts, (2) increase in customer support cost, (3) consumers’
negative image of corporate brands, etc. As a result, although
companies do not do anything wrong, consumers’ trust in
them is lost, and the use of websites decreases due to uneasiness
of consumers. Thus, business is affected.
The United States, China and Korea are
always ranked in the top 3 as countries with servers that are
used for phishing, and Japan is included in the top 10 countries
every month. Methods that are employed in phishing frauds are
as follows: (1) falsification of address bars, (2) avoidance of
spam filters (anti-spam), (3) wrongful use of secure site seals,
etc. As anti-phishing solutions, there are the following measures:
(1) mails with electronic certificates, (2) sender authentications
and server certificates, (3) authentications between servers and
clients, etc.
Like billing frauds and fictitious billings,
methods that are employed in phishing frauds are making advances
day by day. It is highly probable that, rather than thrill-seeking
criminals like virus writers who want to demonstrate their technical
capabilities, professional criminals are involved in financially-motivated
phishing. From now on, it will indispensable for users to increase
security awareness because it is forecasted that the methods that
will be employed in phishing frauds will become even more skillful.
However, it is practically impossible to require all users to
have a sense of security to prevent phishing frauds. Therefore,
it will be required in the future to provide new easy-to-understand
and secure solutions for preventing phishing frauds.
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| Lecture
4: “Threats and Problems of Crimes Committed through
Computer Networks by
Spyware” |
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Mr. Satoru Ishihara, Anti Spyware Promotion WG, Japan Network
Security Association
The Japan Network Security Association
(http://www.jnsa.org/), for
which vendors who are involved in network security systems gather
together, has been acting as an organization for appealing to
the necessity of network security to the society and solving all
kinds of problems.
Online threats have shifted from the phase
of causing damages to computer networks to the phase of causing
real damages by getting money and personal information by fraud
including phishing, by means of spyware and adware.
In particular, many problems have been
caused by spyware these days. Spyware means “programs that
are installed, despite intentions of users and administrators,
to collect personal information of users and other similar information
including access history”. There are many types of spyware,
such as adware and hijackers. There are other types of spyware
for stealing input information, such as key loggers that monitor
and record keyboard inputs. As for entry pathways, spyware breaks
into computers by hiding in free software or shareware, or it
is installed as a function that is included in legitimate software.
It is necessary to take the following
countermeasures against spyware: (1) keep computers up to date
at all times, (2) pay attention to suspicious websites and mails,
(3) strengthen computer security, (4) effectively use countermeasure
software, etc. There are various types of countermeasure software,
such as anti-virus software, anti-spyware software and personal
firewalls, but we cannot completely prevent the entry of spyware
with only one of the countermeasures.
If spyware breaks into our computers,
important information will be leaked while we are unaware of it.
In the worst cases, spyware causes monetary damages and invades
privacy. At present, there are very many types of spyware. For
the purpose of countering them, it is more effective to combine
different countermeasures than to depend on only one of them.
It is also important to control our own behaviors by refraining
from downloading files from suspicious sites and taking other
similar measures.
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Outline of Lectures at the “Sixth
ECOM Seminar 2005”
~ECOM Open Seminar~ |
|
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Mr.
Eiji Hamanaka, Secretary-General of ECOM, gave the host’s
speech |
On December
2 (Friday), 2005, a monthly ECOM seminar
was held at the Todofuken Kaikan Building (Hirakawa-cho, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo). This time, nine former research directors of ECOM, who
contributed to the activities of ECOM and the promotion of EC,
were invited as lecturers to freely express opinions based on
their current positions. For the purpose of not only making
use of their opinions in the future activities of ECOM but also
informing those who are involved in EC of successful activities
by former members of ECOM, we held it as the first open ECOM
seminar so that many people including not only our members but
also the general audience could participate in it. We had approximately
100 visitors.
|
Lecture
1-1
“The Current Status of and Problems
with IT/EC Education in Universities” |
Mr. Hidekazu Tsuji, Ph.D., Professor
School of Information Technology and Electronics, Tokai University
IT/EC education covers a wide range
of areas including basic computer technologies, applied technologies
and social dimensions.
EC environment has changed compared
with seven years ago: personal computers, Internet, and broadband
services have come into wide use, users have expanded from adults
to elementary and junior high school students, Internet services
have expanded and many kinds of problems have arisen. IT/EC
education, which covers from basic knowledge and technologies
for using computers to manners in participating in the information
society, now starts at senior high schools. Universities provide
the following courses: with regard to IT, basic computer training
and applied technologies for software development, information
retrieval, information security, etc., and with regard to EC,
network information literacy, web server technology and other
similar technologies. The problem with IT/EC education in universities
is as follows: in IT education, it is important to steadily
teach the basics and to provide courses that help students find
and solve problems instead of teaching them conventional procedures,
such as practical professional training and PBL (Project Based
Learning), and in EC education, it is necessary to collaborate
with business and management circles.
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Lecture
2-1
“Problems with Security Measures and
a Proposal from ECOM – Introduction of a Security Measure
Evaluation Model of ECOM” |
|
Mr.Takaaki Shigematsu, Manager, Business Planning Department,
Nihon IST Ltd.
In 2004 and 2005, with
the collaboration of many experts in security measures, we developed
a “security measure evaluation model” as a packaging
guide for ISMS to evaluate the sufficiency of security measures
under contemplation or in execution. The aim of the model that
we propose is to evaluate the robustness of security measures.
The proposed model is based on a concept that the robustness of
measures should be evaluated from the following three perspectives:
completeness of the coverage of target points, completeness of
the coverage of measure targets, and strictness of measures to
be taken. The strength of measures is evaluated on a five-point
scale according to measure demands. The characteristics of the
proposed model are as follows: it can be applied to all types
of systems; it can plan and evaluate security measures in response
to the characteristics of security environments of target systems;
and it can prevent a lack of security measures if it is used as
a measure guide. In the future, personal equation will be eliminated
and security measures will be objectively evaluated, if the following
problems are solved: improvement of the proposed model, strengthening
of usefulness, evaluation of usefulness based on application experiments,
establishment of application schemes, etc.
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Lecture
2-2
“Training for the Protection of Personal
Information” |
Mr. Eijiro Aihara, Manager, IT Team, Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co., Ltd.
Even though thorough
measures for information security are taken, it is not sufficient
to “observe the Act on the Protection of Personal Information”.
Information security is based on common safety management processes,
and the process of handling personal information includes access
to information, use of information, responses to complaints
and inquiries, and provision of information to third parties.
To make employees understand the “importance” of
personal information, it is necessary to establish unified rules
and systems, to manage information assets (adjustment and disposal
of personal information), to conduct site (internal) audits,
and to reflect audit results (indicated points). As development
approaches, it is effective to provide e-learning and e-test
opportunities and to release lists according to working places
on the rate of participation in courses and the number of consecutive
days with “no personal computer theft / loss”. When
personal information is leaked, it is necessary to promptly
take measures for victims, to conduct examinations to determine
causes, and to report the results to authorities and publicly
announce them. The protection of personal information is one
of the most important “management” issues for companies
and groups in the modern society. It is necessary not only to
provide practical training to employees to make them understand
the importance of personal information but also to establish
CPOs (Chief Privacy Officers) to respond to top-down management.
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Lecture
2-3
“The Current Status and Problems of
Electronic Signatures and Authentications” |
|
Mr. Akitoshi Yonekura, Chief Researcher, Electronic Signature
and Authentication Promotion Center, Japan Information Processing
Development Corporation (JIPDEC)
Four and a half years have passed since
the Law concerning e-Signatures was enforced. At present, there
are the following authentication infrastructures: governmental
authentication infrastructures, public authentication infrastructures
(S/MIME certificates and server certificates), and in-company
authentication infrastructures. As for certification and authentication
services, seventeen authentication services are now certified
and electronic certificates can be issued for electronic bidding,
electronic application, electronic filing, etc. for e-Government
system; electronic contract systems, signatures in S/MIME e-mails,
electronic files including PDF files, etc. in the private sector.
Users need to be careful in confirming contents before they e-sign
and strictly managing the signature codes that are used for electronic
signatures. What is important for signature verifiers is to confirm
information concerning the scope of use of electronic signatures,
signature verification codes of certification authorities, finger
prints, invalidation, etc. In general, it is difficult to say
that electronic signatures and authentications have spread among
people. We have future issues such as the possibility of long-term
verification of electronic signatures, verification level, verification
of attributes and certification standards.
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Lecture
3-1
“Ideal Consumer Protection from the Viewpoint
of Cybermall Operators” |
Mr. Yasuo Atsumi, Manager, Legal Division, Yahoo Japan Corporation
Some people hesitate
to make use of online auctions because they feel uneasy about
transactions (uncertainty of product delivery, lack of information
about people involved, and leakage of personal information)
and troubles, and because procedures are bothersome (troubles
with procedures, unknown usage and undetermined charges). Online
auction operators provide a transaction process, which covers
from registration for participation to exhibition, searching
and bidding, and successful bidding, to online auction participants
(exhibitors, bidders and winning bidders). In general, commercial
activities after successful bidding (mails on successful bidding
are sent from operators to both exhibitors and winning bidders),
such as transfers of money and products, are handled independently
outside of the programs of operators, as party-to-party transactions
between exhibitors and winning bidders, in which operators are
not involved at all.
For the purpose of securing the safety
and reliability of transactions, operators provide variety of
support activities including usage experience programs, guidelines
and FAQs, disclosure of cases of trouble, and escrow services.
However, it is hard to say that they are satisfactorily used.
It is needless to say that, for the purpose of further promoting
consumer protection, operators are required to continuously
take effective countermeasures against threats. But, the most
important issue is to develop transaction environments in which
participants are urged to be aware of their responsibilities
as parties involved and to be independent players.
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Lecture
3-2
“The Current Status of and Problems
with the Card Society” |
Mr. Mikio Aoshima, Vice President, Golden academy (NPO)
The credit card society has been making
steady progress. As for credit card business performance in
2003, card billing amounted to 33 trillion yen, the number of
active cards was 250 million (including 80 million IC cards),
and the actual number of member stores was 1.3 million (including
100,000 IC card terminals). It is estimated that the ratio of
card billing to household consumption expenditure is 70% in
Ireland (No.1 in the world), 60% in Korea (No. 2 in the world),
35% in the U.S., and 11% in Japan. As for damage amount due
to wrongful use of credit cards in Japan, the percentage of
damage due to forged credit cards has been increasing. Debit
cards, prepaid cards, and electronic money are being more frequently
used, respectively. The credit card industry is required to
work on the development of infrastructures for IC card terminals,
counterfeit cards, ID theft (phishing), personal information
protection, the reduction of member-store service charges, and
development of a new settlement market. The introduction of
a mobile settlement function by means of contactless IC cards,
cellular phones, etc., has had many impacts on the card industry,
and there are current problems such as response to new means
of settlement, system sharing and industrial reorganization.
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Lecture
4-1
“The Current Status of Computerization
and Organizations” |
|
Mr. Kazuhiko Arakawa, Senior Consultant
System Consulting Division, Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.
CIOs and IS divisions are aware of many
kinds of problems with IT management as follows: formulation and
implementation of medium and long-term computerization strategies,
effective use of information system assets and information assets,
response to the year 2007 problem and organizational and personnel
risks, structural reform of IT related companies and subsidiaries,
review of insourcing and outsourcing, increase in accountability,
strengthening of IT infrastructures, and use of IT technologies.
In the past, improvement in efficiency was an exclusive theme
on the use of IT, but the prioritized theme has shifted to contribution
to business itself. CIOs as key players in the use of IT were
chosen mainly from IT personnel in the past, but the ratio of
CIOs chosen from personnel in administration divisions and operating
divisions, who can understand management and business, has been
increasing. CIOs are expected to play a role of incorporating
IT into management and realizing total optimization in the use
of IT; they can not stay any more only as supervisors in IT divisions.
The first issue with IT management is to secure and relocate core
human resources, and the second one is to realize total optimization
in strategies and funds. CIOs are expected to be all-round players
in solving problems and their responsibilities are becoming very
big.
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Lecture
4-2
“Problems with the Diffusion of EDI –
Possibility of Introducing EDI into Small and Medium-sized
Enterprises” |
Mr. Yukinori Saito, General Manager, IT Planning Office, Fuji
Electric Holdings Co., Ltd.
According to a survey by ECOM on 5,000
small and medium-sized enterprises with the aim of understanding
the current status of EDI in these companies, the rate of EC introduction
is high: 35% in case of purchasers and 70% in case of sellers
(837 companies sent replies and the rate of collection was 17
%). The high rate was due to the fact that the companies surveyed
were small and medium-sized enterprises that were oriented for
introducing IT and EC. The national average rate of EC introduction
is as low as 10%, and many small and medium-sized enterprises
are unable to fully enjoy the effects of EC introduction. There
are the following problems with EC and EDI: standardization, user
systems and capacities, user-friendliness, and cost. It is necessary
not only to advance standardization but also to promote EC and
EDI by making use of XML style sheets, designing and developing
standard message conversion systems, standard EDI client systems
and Internet EDI systems for small and medium-sized enterprises.
As for activities by the Japanese government, the IT Management
for SMEs Support Project has been carrying out activities since
FY2004 and the IT Strategy Headquarters (third term), since May
2005. The government has been advocating the use and promotion
of IT as a policy for small and medium-sized enterprises. In these
activities, due to the creation of common integrated infrastructures,
issues such as use of IT, increase in problem-solving capacity
and strengthening of competitiveness are being examined. For the
purpose of developing and promoting a common XML/EDI framework
to solve current EDI problems and carrying out other similar activities,
the Common XML/EDI Practice Promotion Council has been developing
basic software to conduct pilot tests in the first half of FY2006.
The council is working in cooperation with related organizations
(Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, ECOM, JEITA, etc.).
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Lecture
4-3
“Problems with and Expectations for Japan-Korea
EC Promotion from the Standpoint of
Korea” |
Mr. Eiji Ishiguro, Advisor, e-AMP Secretariat, Korea CALS/EC
Association
We are working toward the realization
of the concept of the e-Asia market place (e-AMP), which started
in FY2000 supported by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
The e-AMP project is a project for promoting and supporting electronic
commerce on the Internet in Asian countries and it has been supported
and promoted by both the Japanese and Korean governments. e-AMP/Korea
is supporting transaction processes for the companies that want
to do business with Korean companies, based on a database through
which Korean companies and products can be searched for. Its main
functions are as follows: search of companies and products, provision
of credit information, automatic translation, marketing agency
service, etc. There are services that are irreplaceable by business-to-business
EC, such as confirmation of sites of partner companies and confirmation
of quality and supply capacity. e-AMP is carrying out the following
activities: provision of excellent corporate and product information,
establishment of an inquiry counter, holding of exhibitions and
business meetings, collaboration with e-MPs in other countries,
leading of current businesses to e-AMP, introduction of candidate
companies, support for marketing activities, and other similar
activities.
In the future, we will expand the transaction
area all over Asia including the “China Zone”, which
has been a focus of attention as a large trading zone.
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|
Survey on Needs for Retirement
Procedures
Proposals to e-Governments on How to Deal with the 2007 Issues |
|
Mr. Kazuo Adachi, Research Director
of ECOM (e-Government & Business Collaboration WG), makes
a report on the above-mentioned survey result.
2007 is the year when a large number
of baby boomers will retire.
When you mention the 2007 issues, it
means the concerns over the accumulated know-how not being passed
on to the next generation and the mission-critical systems not
being maintained after the retirement of the generation who
developed and maintained the mission-critical systems of big-sized
general-purpose machines, etc. However, we took a look at one
particular issue of the increasing amount of procedures for
retirements.
According to one estimate, 8 million
people will retire in the three years around 2007. The survey
result of ECOM members shows the average time to complete all
procedures for one retiree is two hours and 35 minutes. Therefore,
it takes 20 to 24 million hours to complete retirement procedures
for 8 million retirees. If 2,000 yen per hour is paid, the total
cost will be 40 to 48 billion yen. This is the amount that companies
are expected to pay.
Retirement procedures that companies
have to do at administrative agencies are wide-ranging, such
as tax, social insurance, labor insurance, etc. And also for
the procedures to be accepted, you have to visit so many agencies,
such as the municipalities where a retiree lives, social insurance
offices, job centers, labor standards inspection offices, etc.
In addition, documentary forms are not standardized.
In order to collect the necessary documents
for an elderly benefit adjudication claim procedure to receive
pension payments, retirees themselves also have to visit municipalities,
job centers, benefit associations, social insurance offices,
annuity insurance associations, tax offices, hospitals, post
offices, etc. With the collected documents, application documents
need to be submitted to social insurance offices, etc.
ECOM has been considering “what
e-Governments ought to be” from the point of users. The
minimum condition to make successful e-Governments, we believe,
is that companies and citizens can actually sense the convenience
and user-friendliness of e-Governments. To meet the conditions,
it is indispensable to make all the procedures able to be completed
at one portal (one-stop service). The applications which can
be completed at one portal, such as residence and seal certificate
issuance, are limited. It is more common that multiple procedures
at different portals are involved with one application, such
as an application to do business or birth notification. To streamline
those procedures, computerizing applications at each portal
is not enough. All procedures for each event should be able
to be completed at one portal (one-stop service). Most of the
current applications were computerized for “each procedure”
from the point of view of the officers (national and local public
entities) who receive applications. This is out of touch with
the needs of users (companies and citizens) who are expecting
one-stop service for “each event.” This is the main
reason for users not to find any advantages in e-Government.
Taking the retirement procedure as
a typical example of those complicated procedures, we conducted
a survey of companies and individuals under the theme of “Administrative
Procedures at Retirement.” We set up a hypothesis that,
when making the administrative procedures for retirement, the
capabilities of e-Governments are expected to contribute to
payroll reduction at the section of general affairs and human
resources, and to the foundation of convenience of life (pension,
health, management of assets, founding a company, personal business,
etc.). We received responses from 1,050 companies and 410 baby
boomers and rounded up the results.
The main points of the survey results
are as follows.
<Outline of the Survey>
- To Companies
The main target is people at the section
of general affairs and human resources. We divided them into
the following groups, and then conducted a web-based questionnaire
survey.
1. People mainly in charge of administrative procedures at the
retirements of employees.
2. People who are not mainly in charge of administrative procedures
at the retirements of employees,
but they sometimes get put in charge of those procedures.
3. People who are not mainly in charge of administrative procedures
at the retirements of employees,
but they sometimes assist in those procedures.
- To Baby Boomers
The target is baby boomers and people
around the age of baby boomers (age 55 to 64). We conducted
a web-based questionnaire survey.
- Duration of the Survey
Preliminary Survey (limiting targets):
November 16 to November 25, 2005
Main Survey: November 25 to November
28, 2005
- Numbers of Responses
Company: 1,050
Individual: 410
<Survey Result>
1. Result of respondents from 1,050 companies
- About half of the companies think administrative
procedures for employees are a burden.
- About 60% of companies think payroll-related procedures,
including annual adjustment, are
especially a burden. And also, about half of the companies think
employment insurance-related procedures
are also a burden.
- More than 80% of the companies with more than
300 employees are concerned about the
increasing burden of procedures at the retirements of baby boomers.
- 80% of companies believe that web-based procedures
are efficient. Nearly 90% of companies
admit the necessity of promotion of making changes to enable
handling procedures over the web.
And also 80% of companies expect procedures to be converted
to web handling by 2007, when
the most baby boomers retire.
2. Result of respondents from 410 individuals from 50’s
to 60’s
- Regardless of whether or not they have already
experienced the elderly benefit adjudication
claim procedures, about 90% of the people admit the convenience
of being able to do the procedures
during their tenure.
- 94% of the people think the procedures should
be treated collectively on the Internet. 58% of
the people responded, “even by pouring in public money,
it should be promoted.”
- In addition to that, 92% of the people think it
should be materialized by 2007.
(Please refer to http://www.ecom.jp/press/2005_007.htmlfor
details of the respondents.)
These survey results show high expectations
from both companies and individuals for web-based procedures.
An especially noteworthy result is that over eighty percent
of companies and ninety percent of individuals think it should
be ready by 2007, when the number of baby boom generation retirees
reaches a peak.
If both companies and administrative
agencies can go through procedures from the Internet, and retirement
procedures can be done with the Internet environment at the
office, extremely convenient and frequently used e-Governments
would be established for both companies and retirees.
The issue of streamlining retirement
procedures is forthcoming in two years. ECOM’s e-Government
& Business Collaboration WG is aiming to implement a pilot
test of the one-stop service in FY2007, and planning to immediately
set up an appropriate scheme for retirement procedures to include
administrative agencies, companies and individuals.
There are some problems: one-stop services
for procedures of current electronic applications, notification,
etc., are not yet provided; acquisition of Basic Resident Register
cards and electronic certificates, which are necessary for using
public person authentication, are not widespread among employees.
One-stop service of retirement procedures can be a killer application
to solve the problems.
More importantly, the burden of administrative
procedures on users should be reduced. If e-Government services
can ease the burden, the number of people who have public person
authentications (this is currently the problem) would expand.
Easier-to-use electronic applications, notifications, etc.,
will also increase the number of users.
|
|
The Announcement of
the “Second ECOM Executive Special Seminar” |
|
The “Second ECOM Executive Special Seminar”
for board members of ECOM will be held as follow.
| Date: |
January 19 (Thursday), 2006, 15:30~17:00 |
| Place: |
“Gold Star Room,” Tokyo Kaikan, Kasumigaseki
Building
(Kasumigaseki Building 35th floor, Kasumigaseki 3-2-5, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo) |
| Lecturer: |
Mr. Risaburo Nezu, Senior Managing Director of Fujitsu
Research Institute (FRI) |
| Title: |
“Pay More Attention to the U.S.A.” |
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The Announcement of the “Eighth
ECOM Seminar”
~ e-Governments ~ How to Expand Utilization
of Electronic Applications |
|
In a series
of measures concentrating on the e-Government Construction Plan,
96% of applications at the national government are computerized,
and development of the environment has been progressing rapidly.
We are now facing challenges to expand utilization of the electronic
applications. To tackle the challenges, a system in which users
can enjoy the genuine convenience of e-Governments is needed.
The common theme of
lectures is “Expansion of Utilization of Electronic Applications.”
In the keynote speech, efforts in Japan and in the Québec
Tax Agency in Canada will be introduced. Through reports on
the results of surveys conducted by ECOM and the panel discussion
with intellectuals, we will consider the issues and outlook
of diffusion of electronic applications, and scenarios toward
the firm establishment of e-Governments, taking retirement procedures
and e-Tax applications as examples.
| Date: |
January 25 (Wednesday), 2006, 13:20~17:00 |
| Place: |
Meeting room, 6F, Kikai Shinko Kaikan Bldg. (3-5-8, Shibakoen,
Minato-ku, Tokyo) |
Program
| 13:20~13:40 |
Opening Lecture
“The Current Status and Future
Challenges of e-Governments” |
| 13:40~14:10 |
Keynote Speech 1
“e-Government
Construction Plan in Japan” |
| 14:10~15:10 |
Keynote Speech 2
“Introduction of the Electronic Tax Filing System
at the Tax Agency in Québec” |
| 15:10~15:20 |
Coffee Break |
| 15:20~15:40 |
Case Example
“Report
on Company Survey Results and One-Stop Portal Service of
Retirement Procedures” |
| 15:40~16:00 |
Case Example
“Report
on Survey Results of Companies’ Needs at Tax Filing
and Proposals to Diffuse Electronic Tax Filing Service
|
| 16:00~17:00 |
Panel Discussion
“Toward the Implementation of User-Friendly and Convenient
e-Governments” |
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The Announcement of the “Ninth
ECOM Seminar” |
|
Act
on the Protection of Personal Information and Attribute Authentication
We
will face increasing opportunities to authenticate personal attribute
information like positions in the case of authentication on the
Internet.
In this
seminar, we will introduce not only the Act on the Protection
of Personal Information, but also examples of attribute authentications
and how to deal with personal information at the attribute authentication.
| Date: |
January 27 (Friday), 2006, 13:30~16:40 |
| Place: |
Meeting room, 6F, Kikai Shinko Kaikan Bldg. (3-5-8, Shibakoen,
Minato-ku, Tokyo) |
Program
| 13:30~14:30 |
Lecture 1
“Act
on the Protection of Personal Information and Attribute Authentication”
|
| 14:30~14:40 |
Coffee Break |
| 14:40~15:40 |
Lecture 2
“The Latest Trend of Attribute Authentication in the
Medical Field” |
| 15:40~16:40 |
Lecture 3
“Protection of Personal Information
and Attribute Authentication Provider at Websites”
|
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The Announcement of the “RFID
Tags Diffusion Promotion Seminar”
Utilization of RFID tags toward Enhancement
of Inter-Industrial Competitiveness |
|
|
Under the corporation of the Next Generation
Electronic Commerce Promotion Council, the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry and the Japan Information Processing Development
Corporation / Electronic Commerce Promotion Center (JIPDEC/ECPC)
will hold an “RFID Tags Diffusion Promotion Seminar”
to promote the introduction and implementation of RFID tags. It
is a part of the FY2005 RFID Tag System Development Survey (infrastructure
development of inter-company information sharing).
This time, we will introduce
RFID tags pilot tests by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
and the activity results of survey research on inter-company utilization
of RFID tags, etc., in Sapporo, Nagoya and Fukuoka.
In parallel, at the venues,
we display RFID tag-attached products which were used for the
pilot tests in FY2004, and you can watch a video introducing the
pilot tests.
We will put more details,
such as its program and registration for the seminar, on ECOM’s
web site (http://www.ecom.jp/seminar/rfid_seminar.html),
etc., shortly.
| Sapporo Venue |
|
| |
Date: |
January 31 (Tuesday), 2006, 13:00~17:00 |
| |
Place: |
Room Tancho, SAPPORO GARDEN PALACE (Sapporo, Hokkaido) |
| Nagoya Venue |
|
| |
Date: |
February 7 (Tuesday), 2006 13:00~17:00 |
| |
Place: |
Meeting room, 5F, Sakae Gas Building (Nagoya, Aichi) |
| Fukuoka Venue |
|
| |
Date: |
February 10 (Friday), 2006 13:00~17:00 |
| |
Place: |
International Conference Hall, 4F, ACROS Fukuoka (Fukuoka
City, Fukuoka) |
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|
ECOM Press
Release |
|
|
Survey on Needs for Retirement Procedures
Proposals to e-Governments on How to Deal with the 2007 Issues
(Released on December 12,
2005)
| Detail: |
http://www.ecom.jp/press/2005_007.html
(*There is also a related article on this page.) |
| Outline: |
ECOM conducted the “Survey on Needs for Retirement
Procedures” with people at the section of general affairs
and human resources and baby boomers. |
Around 2007, eight million
baby boomers will reach age sixty. There will be increasing activities
at the turning point, such as retirement, reemployment, a life
of freedom, etc. With the increasing activities, there will be
a flood of administrative procedures that both individuals and
people at the general affairs sections of their companies have
to do. We set up a hypothesis that, when making administrative
procedures for retirements, the capabilities of e-Governments
are expected to contribute to payroll reduction at the general
affairs sections and to the foundation of convenience of life.
We received responses from 1,050 companies and 410 baby boomers
and gathered the results.
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|
From the Secretary-General |
|
|
I attended the “Fifth Joint Meeting
of the Japan-Taiwan EC Promotion Committee” in Taipei, Taiwan,
on behalf of Mr. Takedahara, the Managing Director of ECOM. The
outline of the meeting is already mentioned in this issue. Taipei,
where I visited for the first time in several years, was brisk
as before. There is the world’s tallest building (508 m)
by the name of Taipei 101 (Taipei Financial Center) towering in
the town, and the bullet train, which has installed Japanese technologies,
is scheduled to be opened in October 2006. In addition, the venue
for next year’s GBDe (Global Business Dialogue on Electronic
Commerce) was decided to be Taipei. Further development of Taipei
is still expected.
How was the year 2005
for you? It became the year for me to have reconfirmed the importance
and appreciation of health. If you could select the biggest ten
news items in 2005, which news item comes up as your number one?
There were some incidents, such as the earthquake-resistance data
falsification scandal, the Amagasaki derailment accident, the
series of girl-murders, natural disasters at home and abroad,
etc., though they are not good news. For ECOM, “Inauguration
of the Next Generation ECOM” and “Full Enforcement
of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information” are
inevitable choices. As you choose the biggest ten news items for
you and your company, you can also make a New Year’s resolution
on what you are eager to accomplish this year. I wish you a bright
New Year full of hope.
(Hamanaka)
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ECOM News No. 9
Issue Date: December 26, 2005
Issuer: Next Generation Electronic Commerce Promotion Council
of Japan
Kikai Shinko Kaikan Bldg 3F
3-5-8, Shibakoen, Minato-ku Tokyo 105-0011, Japan
Tel: +81-3-3436-7500, Fax: +81-3-3436-7570
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