Next, let’s take a look at the relationship between security and the application of IT to government, one of today’s hot topics. As one part of the “e-Japan” initiative that was announced in 2001, Japan’s central and local government offices are now fully engaged in switching over to electronic, network-based systems. What they are aiming at is a qualitative improvement in government services by offering citizens “one-stop” convenience. A simultaneous goal is greater efficiency in the internal operations of government and public offices by going “paperless” and taking advantage of the other benefits of IT. As you may guess, the key to achieving these goals is security.

For example, with the electronic application system that is one of the core functions of e-government, one must first of all confirm the true identity of the applicant. In addition, it is very important to be able to check that the documents provided for the application are genuine and have not been forged or tampered with. All of this has to be accomplished with a PKI system. And, of course, equally important is the protection of the applicant’s privacy and personal data. Encryption is crucial if we are to ensure that an unauthorized party cannot “see” the content of an application.

In addition to security, operational efficiency is essential. What is important is document management. When was something issued, in what form is it archived, and how long is it stored? People need a document management system tailored to the actual workflow in an office. Thus, in order to realize e-government, one needs to have an intimate knowledge of a variety of technologies as well as of an office’s operations. That is why so much is expected of Mitsubishi Electric, with our encryption-based security technologies and our enviable track record in this field.

In fact, the adoption of IT by many government offices and agencies in Japan is making good progress thanks to a general-purpose electronic application system that incorporates Mitsubishi Electric’s know-how in one package. This system will doubtless prove to be a powerful support for the digitization of Japan’s local authorities, scheduled for implementation this year. Moreover, there is also a secret strategy designed to provide a powerful impetus to increased efficiency in government: the signed PDF document. PDF is a file format that enables the exact digitization of existing documents, but this solution also adds an electronic signature capability. Thanks to this, it will be possible to remove the mountain of paper documents that weighs down on every government department by converting it into digital data. As a result, the staff who work in these central and local government departments will be released from the tremendous burden of handling paper documents. They will then be free to spend much more of their time concentrating on actually serving the citizenry, the original purpose of their employment.

What we must not forget here is the war on cyber-terror, since there is no doubt that e-government will be a target for those intent on creating damage and confusion. A task force was established by the Japanese police in 2001 to protect state and society from just such attacks. Mitsubishi Electric too is cooperating with this Cyber Force, which consists of highly trained specialists. The weapon that they use to battle against the world’s cyber-terrorists with their world-class expertise in hacking is network security technology. Such technologies protect e-government and other important elements of the electronic infrastructure of society not only by detecting network intrusions but also by making use of such investigative methods as attracting hackers to a decoy server and then tracing the route and origin of the intrusion.

In an age when society depends upon networks, the security systems that support those networks also form an important part of the social infrastructure. Once networks spread far and wide - stretching from companies, government agencies and public services down to the individual household - security will become necessary everywhere too. In other words, security must become “ubiquitous”. And that is our goal. Mitsubishi Electric is working to build a security infrastructure that will serve the whole of society.