Summary of Minister Fujii’s Post-Cabinet Press Conference
Overview
At the October 20, 2026 press conference, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Fujii addressed the failure to distribute emergency earthquake warnings, noting that NTT Docomo had upgraded its system and that the ministry would encourage other mobile carriers to take action. On developing and retaining local tax personnel and advancing digital transformation in tax administration, he said the government would improve operations and reduce workloads through training, sharing leading practices, and support for using external specialists.
Key points
- The press conference was held on October 20, 2026.
- Reliable delivery of emergency earthquake warnings is important, and other mobile carriers will be urged to take the necessary measures.
- Digital and AI transformation in local tax administration will be advanced through specialist training, sharing leading practices, and support for using external specialists.
Overview
Local tax assessment and collection support administrative services close to residents and require especially high reliability among municipal operations. Population decline and other factors have made it difficult to secure personnel, particularly in small municipalities, making it a challenge to develop staff with specialist knowledge and improve operational efficiency.
Impact
The minister said reliable delivery of emergency earthquake warnings is important to ensuring safety and peace of mind during disasters, and that communication services must be provided reliably.
The minister said support for municipalities would help improve tax operations and reduce workloads, with the aim of realizing reliable local tax administration.
Details
On Friday afternoon, October 16 last week, an earthquake with its epicenter near the Kamchatka Peninsula occurred, and the Japan Meteorological Agency’s emergency earthquake warning was not delivered to devices using NTT Docomo. Docomo reported that it had been unable to process data whose format differed in part from the previous format. The company said it had completed a system upgrade and taken the necessary measures to prevent a recurrence.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said it would encourage other mobile carriers to take measures to prevent similar incidents and respond appropriately in coordination with the carriers.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has worked to expand specialist training using institutions such as the Local Autonomy College. It is sharing leading practices, including Nerima Ward’s use of AI, and, together with the Japan Finance Organization for Municipalities, is implementing the Management and Financial Management Strengthening Program to support the development and retention of highly specialized tax personnel through the use of external specialists. This fiscal year, 100 or more municipalities have used the program.