This paper discusses the digital transformation of the city of Barcelona. We focus on this city because it has a long history of engaging with technology, dating back to 1967 when the city's information and communication technology (ICT) department was established. What was the driver for using ICTs to increase citizens' quality of life, and how was this possible from the city's point of view? Through the analysis of the history of ICTs in Barcelona, we provide suggestions for Japanese cities.

Japan is said to have suffered a “digital defeat” because of the confusion and delay in its digital response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The causes for these problems are threefold: (1) the strong viewpoint of the supply side, (2) vertically divided administrations in each ministry, and (3) differing national and local systems. These issues have been characteristic of Japan's ICT strategy over the past 20 years, but there is also a success story–that of digital infrastructure development. In this paper, to promote movement towards a digitally advanced country, I would like to raise the following points: to invite people with diverse perspectives and values to participate in the decision-making; to distinguish the concepts of digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation; to keep the definitions simple and clear so that everyone in the nation can understand them; and to clarify and share concepts and policies that appropriately identify overall trends and directions.

This paper clarifies the significance of DX (Digital Transformation) in the transition of Japan's e-government policy. Specifically, we confirm this transition by following the strategies and plans from the Basic IT Strategy to the Priority Plan for Realizing a Digital Society. Then, we examine the definition of administrative DX. Based on these considerations, we conclude that there is a commonality between the realization of the measures developed in Japan's e-government policy and the significance of administrative DX; the term DX has also been applied to policies aimed at the realization of e-government policies, and their promotion has been planned. DX appears to have the potential to accelerate the movement toward the realization of policies that have been undertaken over the course of more than 20 years since the formulation of the Basic IT Strategy.

In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the use of corporate big data held by private companies. The advantages and uses for such data sets are: the possibility of setting up various analysis frameworks, the flexibility of the geographical and industrial aggregation unit, and the ability to grasp short-term changes. Specifically, big data is being used to identify companies with high centrality in the network, to construct an input-output table, and to immediately understand the impact of the COVID-19 disaster. In this paper, through the examples of studies analyzing corporate innovation, I show the characteristics of this data that enable us to identify regional strengths that cannot be grasped through conventional analysis. Although big data is expected to have potential for use in policy making, I point out that there are issues to be addressed in terms of the development of an environment in which the data can be used, the development of policy techniques that make use of the analysis, and consistency with the administrative policy formulation framework.

The purpose of this article is to present a perspective on what impact digital transformation (DX) will have on evidence-based policymaking (EBPM) and how it will change planning administration. The term “evidence” is interpreted broadly here to include data that do not directly contribute to identifying causal relationships between policy and outcome. We will describe in turn how DX affects evidence in the broad sense. In situations where public policy decisions are made, the characteristics of society and the opinions and the values of people will have a greater influence on the final decision than objective or scientific evidence. If we think of planning administration as a kind of political process, we need to consider the role that DX plays in the stage of gathering opinions from people. This article discusses the possibility that DX will significantly change the way people's opinions are gathered and consequently influence policy decisions.

COVID-19 has expanded the opportunities and working styles for telework. Working from home, working in satellite offices, “worcation,” living in two areas, migration, and other forms of telework are increasing steadily, which may change how communities behave. In the telework era, when people can work from anywhere, it is necessary to consider the development of offices and residences, as well as public workplaces, in each city and region from the perspective of a community base, without separating metropolitan zones from rural areas.

Transformative change with digital transformation (DX) is the key to achieving a sustainable global society towards 2030 as the milestone year and 2050 as the goal year. This paper introduces applications of digital technologies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), defined by the United Nations as goals to achieve by 2030, and discusses a perspective of the fusion of physical space and cyberspace. In the background, the paper considers the importance of “the decade of action” from the viewpoint of the SDGs as well as our response to climate change and biodiversity conservation. In Chapter 2, the “Platform Clover,” an SDGs knowledge platform, is introduced, and two applications of artificial intelligence-related technology are explained to share the importance of understanding and sharing the SDGs nexus structure. In the final chapter, imaginative perspectives towards 2050 are discussed, reaching beyond the SDGs era. We must make transformative change to the Society 5.0 world by deploying the power of digital technology, and the decision about how to integrate physical and cyberspace by digital technology is the underlying key to success in the globally aging period from 2030 to 2050 period.

Public theaters established by local governments play an important role in local cultural promotion. They provide high quality stage performances for the local populace. However, public theaters are not immune from socio-economic changes and are under great pressure to contribute to the local community. In 2012, the Theater Law was enacted, clearly stating that theaters should be an “open space” for the assembly of local residents. In order to consider this new additional role, this study examines theater goers in detail, and estimates the use value from their theater visits. Taking the case of a typical local theater, Sakura Hall in Iwate Prefecture, which attracts approximately 250,000 visitors a year, we found that people visit the theater not only to attend performances but also for activities such as practicing artistic activities, studying, and attending meetings. Also, the study results indicated that the availability of these cultural activities in a broad sense, rather than based on specific profiles of attendees - age, gender, residential area, and profession - increases the number of theater visits, and a use value equivalent to about 400 million yen was estimated by the travel cost method, which is larger than the annual budget allocation from the local government.