The UK Concept of "Public Service 2.0" as a Reference for Creating Regional SNSs in Japan

Examples of British “Public 2.0” Services

As an online democracy project of British citizens, "They Work for You" is a site run by a registered charity called mySociety. Its goal is to encourage residents to participate directly in politics. This service allows residents to enter their regional postal codes and browse Parliamentary meeting minutes (Hansard) as well as periodically check remarks made by the Members of Parliament who represent them. Users can also post comments regarding these remarks and have discussion with other citizens.

This group, which also provides similar Public 2.0 services such as “PublicWhip.org.uk” and “National Rail Timetable”, seems to have taken a hint from "Up My Street" which began providing its service as early as 1998.

"Up My Street" is a service that was created to decrease the cost (time and money) of gathering information when moving to a new area. After entering the postal code and name of the area in question, users can find a rough outline of the income bracket, academic background and family makeup (number of families with children) of residents, as well as other features of the area such as property and “buy and sell” information.

“Hear From Your MP” is a site where users can receive comments from Members of Parliament and engage in discussion with said MPs as well as other residents concerning problems in the region. After required registration, the service is provided in the following steps: 1) A detailed opinion concerning a problem is posted by a resident. 2) This issue is then added to a list of regional problems. 3) If a voter from the same region agrees with the opinion, the site administrator mediates by sending notification that, “Voter A from your region wants to hear more about your opinion”. While there is no guarantee that an MP will respond, the discussion is not one-way: opinions and corresponding responses are posted publicly, and the discussion can be viewed by other voters.

“Fix My Street” is a service for reporting broken things in one’s community and requesting repair. Information on both pending and fixed problems in the neighborhood are listed, and can be shared among residents. Users can find out the number of pending and fixed problems, as well as the kinds of problems left unattended. The process of reporting is similar to “Hear From Your MP”: 1) Users specify the region with a postal code or street name. 2) The specific area in question is marked on a provided map. 3) A category (parking lot, bus stop and etc.) is selected from a pull-down menu, and the problem is described in a Blog format. 4) Pictures can also be attached.

“Patient Opinion”, operated by a non-profit organization, allows patients, the families of patients, friends and other interested parties to post opinions in a Blog format concerning sicknesses and so on. The goal is to help improve the UK National Health Service by having patients write and share experiences related to healthcare.

Applying to Japanese Services

These UK services are relevant when thinking about regional SNSs in Japan. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) conducted a demonstration SNS experiment in 2003, with Yatsushiro City in Gunma Prefecture as a pioneer region. This experiment yielded positive results, and many regional SNSs have since been established around Japan. Maintenance and continuity, however, have been an issue: many regional SNSs are deactivated or simply not updated and gradually forgotten.

In a joint effort with the Local Authorities Systems Development Center (LASDEC), the MIC conducted a survey on the use of regional SNSs in 2007 . Local authorities were asked, “How are you currently involved in the regional SNS?” and, “How would you like to be involved in the future?” Answers to both questions leaned towards “Providing administrative information” and “Providing information on disasters and suspicious individuals”. In other words, municipal government involvement tends to take the form of information provision.

Regarding the exchange of disaster-related information, “Gorotto Yacchiro” is a service already being provided that is garnering international attention as an example of disaster prevention. If the provision of administrative information is one-way, it is no different from the official websites of local governments. Japanese regional SNSs lack the kind of UK perspective of building platforms that incorporate citizens’ opinions and, through web-based interaction, reflect these opinions in regional policy.

While there are examples of lawmakers participating in regional SNSs in Japan and communicating with citizens, many challenges remain towards the full realization of this concept. Platforms such as "Up My Street" and "Fix My Street", where “realizations” and requests of regional residents are listed and local governments are encouraged to respond, have application potential in Japan as well.

1. CGM: Consumer Generated Media. 2. UCC: User Created Contents. 3. “Results of the Survey on the Current Use of Regional SNSs” http://www.lasdec.nippon-net.ne.jp/rdd/community/survey/sns_survey.html