Fumiaki Kobayashi, Member of the House of Representatives, Liberal Democratic Party (Hiroshima 6th District/Fukuyama City)

Let's make this country's rules more in line with our times.

Liberal Democratic Party Member of the House of Representatives (Hiroshima 6th District/Fukuyama City)　The first thing I did was(Fumiaki Kobayashi)

■ Profile
Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party's New Capitalism Implementation Headquarters.
He is currently promoting startup policy, structural reform of the labor market, competition policy, and political diversity. During the first and second Kishida Cabinets, he served as Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs and Deputy Minister of the Cabinet Office, and founded the Temporary Administrative Reform Council on Digital Affairs. He proposed a plan for comprehensive legal revision of analog regulations. During the Suga Cabinet, he served as Special Advisor to the Minister of Cabinet Office, where he oversaw the vaccination promotion project. He is originally from Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture.

After graduating from university and working in the private sector, Kobayashi Fumiaki encountered "outdated regulations." He realized that he was living by rules created by people from long ago, and decided to become a politician, becoming a politician himself. In the 12 years since his first election, he has stuck to his original goal and is focused on changing rules that are no longer in line with the times.
We spoke to him about his current job, how he became a politician, his thoughts and feelings, and his message to students.

I have found "manufacturing" fascinating since I was a child. Manufacturing is a thriving industry in my hometown of Fukuyama, and my parents own a fishing net manufacturer, so perhaps it's because there were many manufacturing companies nearby. When I was in kindergarten, it was my daily routine to spend two hours a day watching the machine that makes momiji manju in front of the station (laughs). I felt that "when making something, it is the materials that ultimately create great value," so I went on to study chemistry at Sophia University's Faculty of Science and Technology. However, during my student days, I was absorbed in baseball and snowboarding.

After graduating from university, I joined NTT Docomo and worked in corporate sales. However, I sometimes hit a wall. At the time, the NTT Group had a system that prevented us from proposing things we wanted to do, and because of this rule, we lost important customers several times. This experience was extremely frustrating. This rule was created decades ago when the NTT Group had a monopoly on domestic market share. It may have worked back then, but during the time I was working there, this rule was causing NTT to lose its international competitiveness.
To be honest, I felt it was strange that outdated rules still existed, and I felt anxious, thinking, "If I continue doing this job, I will be hindered by outdated rules." Then, the thought occurred to me: "I will become a party that changes the rules." I remembered helping with an election for a month as a student, and realized that if I went through the process of an election, I could become a party that changes the rules, so I raised my hand in the public recruitment.

■ Changing the rules

My mission is to "achieve a diverse and fair society through the social implementation of technology." This comes from the frustrating experience I mentioned earlier. Many of Japan's current systems are based on those established during the Meiji Restoration or the postwar period. These were times when technology wasn't as advanced as it is now, there was no internet, society lacked diversity, and there were many things only certain people knew or could do. In other words, our systems haven't kept up with the advances in technology and society. To put it another way, we're living by following rules established in those times. This is why this country feels stifling and we can't sense any growth.

Moreover, the things that were created after the war were based on the assumption that the economy and population would continue to grow. However, we are now living in a society with a declining population, so the assumptions are different.

That's why we need to change the rules so that we can be active in the present and freely demonstrate our motivation and abilities. We want to incorporate available technology into the system and create a society where everyone is evaluated fairly, regardless of their gender, age, place of residence, disability, or other such backgrounds.
Changing the rules brings about various social changes.
For example, in 2020 we abolished the use of seals in administrative procedures. Previously, many people would go to their offices to stamp documents from the government. However, this became unrealistic during the COVID-19 pandemic and also resulted in a lot of waste. Therefore, in light of this current situation, we were able to review all laws that require the use of seals in a single committee meeting.

When seals were eliminated, electronic contract services became available, and the market size quadrupled in three years. Just by eliminating the single word "seal," economic growth quadrupled. In a similar way, I realized that there were probably many other analog rules. I wondered if we could find those rules and eliminate them all at once, and so when the Kishida administration was formed, I created an organization called the Digital Provisional Administrative Reform Commission.

■Rewards and difficulties

When we decided to abolish the use of seals, we worked together with people from the human resources and general affairs departments of various companies to make the change. Those involved told me, "I never thought I'd be involved in changing the system, but when I actually tried, I realized that systems can be changed." I believe that it was the government and administration up to now that has led many people to believe that the rules of this country will never change. If politicians worked more closely with ordinary people, made laws, and worked together to solve the issues we face, everyone should be able to change the rules of this country. Believing that you can change the rules yourself is interesting and gives you hope, and making people think that way is one of the things that makes my work rewarding.

Each rule has its own background. Therefore, if you suddenly tell the people who created the rules that you're changing them, they will feel like you've completely rejected them. That's why, when creating new rules, I make sure to take the time to talk to people who might oppose them, as well as people who are doing business under the existing rules. It's also important to understand through dialogue why the rules were created and what the important points are. Then, while adhering to those important points, I try to communicate with them, exploring each other's goals, saying, "The social environment has changed, so this needs to change."

It's not easy to get people to agree, but if you carefully address that issue, you can gain their cooperation and move forward with the revisions quickly.

■ The shape of a country in a declining population society

What I intend to do next is to devote all my energy to "eliminating the fragmented state of the national and local governments." The term "digital administrative and financial reform" will start to appear in the media, so please keep an eye on it.

Government offices are also facing labor shortages due to population decline. However, decentralization has been promoted for a long time on the assumption that an increasing population means an increase in the number of people who can do the work, and the same work is done in each local government. When government offices become overwhelmed, various social and economic activities come to a halt, leading to inefficiency and an exacerbation of labor shortages in companies. We want the national government to do what it can collectively and allow each region to focus on what it needs, thereby increasing the speed and attention to detail of government services.

■Message to students

When you come up against something you can't do anything about, it can be hard to resist the frustration and resignation you feel. However, I want you to live your life believing that you can change the environment around you if you take some kind of action. When you think that way, many possibilities become apparent. Realize that you can carve out your own future with your own efforts. Until now, politics and government may have led you to believe that the rules couldn't be changed. However, from now on, I want to show you that society can change if we take the lead and proactively change the rules. I will do my best to create a Japan where people believe they can change the rules and change their environment, so I hope that you will not give up even when you are blocked by the rules in front of you, but will actively forge your own path.

Student Newspaper Online October 23, 2023 Interview: Rimi Ogawa, 3rd year student at Gakushuin Women's College