# 4-1 Japan

:::info
This section includes information partially from participants at the “Facing the Ocean Meet & Hack 2023”.

Facing the Ocean (FtO) is a community of civic hackers living in the West Pacific Ocean region, including Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, etc. The “Facing the Ocean Meet & Hack” is a series of hackathon events organized by the FtO community since 2019.
“FtO Jeju 2023” is organized by g0v international, a g0v project focused on international connection, Code for Korea, and Code for Japan.
:::

## 1. Introduction to the Civic Tech Community in Japan

### (1) Code for Japan (CfJ)

> Image from [Code for Japan](https://www.code4japan.org/zh-TW)

Code for Japan (CfJ) is a Japanese civic tech community that advocates for “a society where we think and create together” (ともに考え、ともにつくる社会). With the rise of the concept of civic tech, CfJ has regional communities called “Code for X (Region/Topic Name)” across Japan. From Hokkaido to Okinawa, there are currently about 80 such communities, including ones like Code for Sake and Code for Japan. CfJ uses platforms like Slack, Notion, and GitHub to manage its community and develop projects, and anyone interested in civic tech is welcome to participate freely on these collaborative platforms. In addition to online community participation and asynchronous project collaboration, CfJ also hosts a one-day “Social Hack Day” hackathon every month. This event allows community members to propose various interests and projects they want to develop and collaborate on them together in person.

Furthermore, CfJ organizes various introductory events for newcomers in civic tech, such as Civictech Live!, an event designed for newcomers to start a conversation. Starting in 2020, CfJ also initiated the “Civictech Challenge Cup U-22” to encourage students to understand social issues and brainstorm for solutions. Beginning with identifying and targeting problems, through processes like surveys and user interviews, they attempt to develop initial product prototypes to promote social development through civic tech.

Currently, CfJ has applied for corporate status and employs a small number of full-time staff to support community operations.

> Code for Japan website: https://www.code4japan.org/zh-TW

## 2. Experience Sharing of Civic Tech Projects in Japan

### (1) Code for Sake

> Image from [Code for Sake](https://sakepedia.code4sake.org/)

Before World War II, Japan had 5,500 sake breweries. However, as of 2017, there were only about 1,500 remained, less than one-third of the original number. The top 13 sake breweries hold more than 50% of the market share, the rest are small breweries. With more beverage options like beer and wine available today, many small sake breweries face financial difficulties. With 20-50 citizens collaborating, this project aims to address this issue. It collects data on sake and sake breweries from across Japan, integrates lost historical data, and utilizes digital technology to establish stronger connections between producers and consumers. Additionally, it aims to preserve sake culture and pass down techniques of sake production, making the industry more sustainable. This project is still evolving through CfJ’s monthly hackathons. The main current challenge is how to take over and track unfinished tasks within the project.

> Project Website: https://sakepedia.code4sake.org/

### (2) NHK Hackathon 2022

> Image from [NHK 取材ノート](https://note.com/nhk_syuzai/n/n781b30508c46)

The 2022 NHK Hackathon, organized by NHK with assistance from CfJ, focused on disaster prevention. The hackathon invited participants to exchange ideas related to disaster prevention and develop demos of these ideas, with the hope of collectively brainstorming ways to protect everyone’s lives. Approximately 60 people participated on the event day, resulting in a total of 11 project teams.

> Project Website: https://note.com/nhk_syuzai/n/n781b30508c46

### (3) Civictech Zen Chiba

> Image from [Civictech Zen Chiba](https://sites.google.com/view/civictechzenchiba/)

There are several regional civic tech projects in Chiba Prefecture. After CfJ held a summit in Chiba in 2019, these projects formed an alliance of about 10-30 people to organize gatherings and events together. Project collaboration takes place when necessary, such as on cross-regional projects and large-scale events, otherwise, they focus on their activities.

> Project Website: https://sites.google.com/view/civictechzenchiba/

### (4) Coco Makers

> Image from [Coco makers](https://cocomakersmap.glitch.me/1st.map.html)

To solve the problem of people with hyperacusis who often encounter sound stimuli when they are in cafes and restaurants, this project utilizes a simple user interface to invite users to report and evaluate various sounds and stimuli in different restaurants and cafes, including loud conversations by children, kitchen water sounds, door opening and knocking sounds, clock ticking, etc. The information is presented on a map, making it easier for those with auditory sensitivity to go outside.

This project was founded by four students from different regions of Japan, who collaborate on the project online. To enhance effective collaboration, team members share their situations and strengths and assign tasks accordingly. The major challenge was how to identify the needs. For some, openly expressing their sensitivity to stimuli made them uncomfortable. However, if they can receive support to create a more comfortable environment, it is crucial to let others know who needs support and what kind of support is needed. The project hopes to reduce the pressure people with hyperacusis would have when they express themselves, while ensuring that cafe staff and owners do not perceive the introduction of this service as an additional burden to their daily work.

One of the project’s initiators believes that the key to successfully driving civic tech projects lies in team management and determining the roles of each contributor based on the project’s mission. Additionally, setting goals, defining key performance indicators (KPIs) for achieving those goals, and involving all stakeholders in the decision-making process are all essential.

> Project Website: https://cocomakersmap.glitch.me/1st.map.html

### (5) Tokyo COVID-19 Task Force Website

> Image from [Tokyo COVID-19 Task Force website](https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/)

This project is a collaborative effort between the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, CfJ, and 315 citizens to create a website that compiles information about COVID-19 in Tokyo.

#### A. Key Factors Contributing to the Successful Development of the Project Included:

- Establishing an Effective Communication Platform
Anyone interested in participating could use Slack for communication and view/edit open-source code on GitHub, which lowers the technical barrier to participation by making the technology open-source.

- Lowering the Participation Barrier
After the website was built, the project participated in CfJ’s Hackathon. The Hackathon offered tutorials on how to improve website usability and multilingualism, allowing interested participants to learn. Several participants joined the project’s website development after finishing the tutorials.

- Utilizing the Resources Accumulated by the Civic Tech Community
During the development process, the project made use of the open-source project “Paper Map” developed by the civic tech community. Paper Map was created by CfJ in response to the damage caused by Typhoon No. 19 in Chiba and other eastern regions of Japan in 2019. It is an information aggregation website that maps useful information during disasters, such as water supply, shelters, free Wi-Fi, gas stations, and more. This project was developed using “NuxtJS,” a technology that can remain steady during development by multiple developers. With the human resources and Paper Map technology, the Tokyo COVID-19 Task Force website project can effectively utilize the open-source experience of its predecessors in the development process.

#### B. Challenges

Since GitHub is inherently open for anyone to participate in the development, even Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials and people outside CfJ can contribute to the website development. However, allowing unrestricted modifications to the source code by anyone can lead to chaos. To prevent this, members of CfJ reviewed and discussed proposals submitted to GitHub to determine their suitability.

Only changes that pass the review stage can be seen on the actual website. By setting constraints during the development process, proposed modifications are aggregated in a way that doesn’t confuse while still accommodating various suggestions from citizens.

However, in the technical coordination process, some decisions inevitably cannot be made solely by engineers and require consultation with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Therefore, when there are only a few people are able to coordinate such difficult issues, the development burden often lies on a small group of people.

> Project websites: https://stopcovid19.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/ & https://github.com/Tokyo-Metro-Gov/covid19

### (6) Kakogawa City Civic Participation Decision-Making Platform (加古川市市民参加型合意形成プラットフォーム)

> Image from [加古川市市民参加型合意形成プラットフォーム](https://kakogawa.diycities.jp/)

This platform is a collaboration between the Kakogawa City Hall and CfJ and has been in operation since October 2020. The platform serves as a forum for collecting citizen opinions, making discussions, and formulating policies accordingly, ensuring urban development aligns better with residents’ needs and reflects their voices in actual policies. For example, after collecting public opinions through the platform, the “Kakogawa Smart City Concept” (加古川市スマートシティ構想) was formulated in March 2021, and its current implementation status is publicly available. The aim is to continue gathering public input and ideas for the future development of Kakogawa City. The platform also supports topics related to physical space planning. For instance, in February 2023, the Kakogawa City Hall announced the Development Plan of Area around JR Kakogawa Station (draft). Using this platform, they collected citizens’ opinions and transformed the station’s surrounding area into a more attractive tourist destination.

> Project Website: https://kakogawa.diycities.jp/

## 3. Experiences in Government Collaboration

Members of CfJ indicated that the Kakogawa City Civic Participation Decision-Making Platform is an excellent example. Although Kakogawa City is very small, its government is highly proactive, making the collaboration very successful. Starting from a smaller metropolitan area has encouraged a lot of cities with similar conditions to believe in their capabilities. Additionally, the initiative didn’t come from the mayor. It was a city government official who brought members of the civic tech community into the office. This made communication much easier, and they could execute more effortlessly. With that said, people play a vital role, and it requires someone within the government office who shares the same values as the community. Furthermore, it’s important to note that communication with different levels of government may require different approaches. Regarding the relationship with the government, CfJ members mentioned that because CfJ’s founder joined the Japanese Digital Agency, it’s a bit challenging to delineate the relationship with the government.